Teenage Pregnancy

John McCain's choice as the vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, has five children. The oldest is in the military and going to be deployed soon. The youngest was born in April and has Down's Syndrome. In addition to being governor of Alaska, she has her hands full with family obligations.

A few days ago, it came out that her 17-year old daughter is 5-months pregnant. The governor is a staunch advocate of abstinence. Someone at home wasn't buying it.

This may or may not be the public's business but in this day and age, nothing stays secret for long. I have never been a pregnant teenager nor have I been the parent of a pregnant teenager. Another bullet dodged. Of course, I did walk around muttering, "Use a condom" a lot.

In my day if a teenager got pregnant, it was an accident. It was a stigma. Some of today's teens think of this as a viable life choice. As adults we know that teen pregnancy often results in:

less education and fewer job options
poverty
less insurance, thus less medical care
loss of youth; loss of dreams
frustration and sometimes abuse

The official statement said the Palin family is proud of her for choosing to have her baby and she plans to marry the baby's father. With teenage pregnancies, there are success stories and there are horror stories.

I'm a proponent of abstinence but come on, that's easy for me to say. I'm married. I haven't been a teenager for a long time. I'm also a proponent of realistic thinking. Some teenagers are going to have sex. They need to know the health and emotional risks. They need to protect themselves.

There are two childhoods at risk: the teenager and the baby that will come into this world.