Comments on: Gloucester’s Pregnancy Pact: Not Hard to Understand

By: Michelle

Michelle — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 23:01:58 +0000

i live ten minutes away from gloucester and there are plenty of things to do i even go to some gloucester parties its not that boring of a town. the people i know from gloucester love the town. i feel as though there are different ways to deal with being bored than getting pregant

By: Dixie - Texas Christ

Dixie - Texas Christ — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:53:13 +0000

I'm really glad I read this. Personally, I don't identify with these girls and absolutely would not understand or appreciate the motive behind this…had I not read this post.

Whether or not I agree with what they're doing is irrelevant (clearly), but thanks to Carla I'll run around slightly less ignorant.

By: katie

katie — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 12:09:22 +0000

I live 15 minutes away from Gloucester, and the way they're depicting it isn't exactly accurate. Yes there are a lot of fishermen, but there are PLENTY of people who do very well for themselves. It's really not some "podunk" town as they're trying to make it out to be. I went to high school with people from Gloucester, went to college with people from Gloucester, worked with people who live there, and am still friends with many people who live there. People can judge all they want..I've heard people berate the principal and the mayor of Gloucester for not handing out birth control because it's such a "catholic" town…well if people WANT to get pregnant, what good is birth control going to do for them?

By: mandi

mandi — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 10:59:23 +0000

i think this whole debacle was a very selfish act. so theyre bored and have nothing else to do? yes thats a perfectly legitamate reason to bring a baby into that world. its selfish. so very selfish

By: J - NYU

J - NYU — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 09:34:59 +0000

Kay, very eloquently put.

By: kay

kay — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 09:09:48 +0000

This is a very good article, addressing a point that is too often overlooked when talking about teen sex/pregnancy/childbearing….Many, MANY teen mothers planned to get pregnant and say their children were not accidental, for the reasons outlined in this article. The bottom line is, if you have ambitious goals/plans for your life, which would be interrupted by having kids at 16, you will make sure you don't have kids at 16. If you don't really have ambitious plans or foresee an exciting future for yourself, you envision kids as a way to prove you are a grown up/get respect from people/etc. Of course once the kid arrives you see it is much more difficult than you ever could have imagined, and your life will never be the same. These girls need resources, ambition, and strong women role models who aren't teen mothers, to make them see that there are other ways to succeed in life.

By: Ashley

Ashley — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:42:31 +0000

Yeah it seems like being a mother puts you on a pedestal in some Leave It to Beaver clone movie. In reality it's been my experience that you're too covered in puke, poor, urine, and every form of cleaning product (to take care of the previously mentioned fluids)not to mention exhausted, completely stressed out and irritated at the world to notice that people notice you. And if they notice you, it doesn't necessarily mean they will help you, appreciate you, or even do anything more than judge you. All a baby at that age will do is ruin your life. Girls seem to think they'll be these perfect bundles of joy that will complete their meaningless lives by caring about them and being there for them. Yeah right. Kids are notoriously selfish. They take way more love than they give. If you need proof, think about how those girls own mothers must feel. The girls obviously didn't.

By: Erica - Kent State

Erica - Kent State — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:18:31 +0000

I knew tons of girls who got pregnant in high school & I think a lot of it was for a reason to live. A lot of the girls I knew who had babies had been on drugs, hooking up with lots of guys, severely depressed – & since having kids, most of them have cleaned up their acts. It's not necessarily 'right' – but it is reality.

By: kaTie

kaTie — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:46:25 +0000

I completely agree. So they should have babies and give them an even poorer livelihood than they already have? Selfish and stupid.

By: christie

christie — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:19:32 +0000

Bunch of excuses. Lots of people grow up poor who live in dinky places and they turn out fine.