Pregnancy Pact? I find it interesting that there is so much controversy about whether there truly was a "pregnancy pact" in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
The Gloucester High School principal was quoted in Time magazine as saying 17 girls at the school who got pregnant this year planned to do it together. Now, the mayor of the town denies there was ever any "pregnancy pact" and even one of the pregnant high school girls told Good Morning America today that there was no agreement among the girls to all get pregnant at the same time. The principal is no longer talking.
The dissection of these events will likely go on for weeks, as it probably should. But where was the effort to address the problem of teen pregnancy at the school, regardless of whether there was a pact?
If 17 girls in one high school are pregnant, school leaders, parents, and community health experts should be working on addressing the emotions and attitudes that led to those pregnancies.
The former medical director of the health clinic at Gloucester High School and the former head nurse there say they had never heard of a pact. But they were well aware of the pregnancies among students. And it seems they were well aware of some of the aspects of the girl's daily lives that might put them at risk for pregnancy.
According to a news report in the New York Times, Dr. Brian Orr and Kim Daly said use of alcohol by the students, media influences, a lack of sex education and the weak economy were all contributing factors.
Shouldn't our attention, including media attention, focus more on teaching young women and men about leading healthy lives, both mentally and physically? We need to do a better job of teaching teens how to prepare for a future that gives them the best opportunity for success. And we shouldn't wait until 17 girls are pregnant at a single school before doing that. ¶ 11:45 AM