Not one of them over 16... Did they purposefully create a pact to get pregnant together? That answer is foggy right now... Does it really matter at this point?... I guess, on the positive side the girls are choosing life and keeping their babies... But in actuality, like all young girls that "fall in love" with the "idea" of being pregnant and having a baby, and most teenagers in general really, they can't see past the tip of their noses... Oh, they say they can. They will say they are "ready" and "prepared" to have and raise children... But speaking as a mom of 4, well, technically 5 at this point, and step mom to 2 grown children, I can say EACH new child brought with him or her a whole new experience, issues and happenings that I wasn't really "prepared" for... And I was MARRIED and living on my own before I even started to think about getting pregnant...
A baby is not a new "toy". A baby is not something that you can just take out and play house with when you feel like it, and put away when you've had enough. Baby's are work, and commitment and unconditional love... and I'm not talking about their love for you but YOUR love for them... and trust me, some days, or nights, when your walking the floor with caulic, or woke by screaming, sometimes puking, when they learn to walk and move around and have destroyed your favorite glass or ceramics or anything that might be special to you... they aren't real lovable... When you want to go out with friends, and you don't have a babysitter, when you can hardly afford to eat any of the things you like because it costs too much trying to feed and diaper a baby... When you feel like you have no life anymore because everything circles around the baby that you insisted that you wanted and were ready for... And have any of them thought about the possibility of having multiples? or a special needs child?... A stubborn kid might tell me that she's thought of all that, and that she is still "ready"... uh-huh... "hearing" and "thinking" about it and saying one's ready is one thing... actually "living" it is really quite something else...
The Mayor of the town that these girls are from, Carolyn Kirk tried to blame a lack of funding for "health education" and THAT'S why so many girls came up pregnant, not because of a "pact"... hhhmmm... I'm sorry Ms. Kirk, but do you really suspect that NOT ONE of these girls knew about birth control?! Call me "naive" but honestly in today's public school systems "health education" is literally shoved down the throats of young students. Not to mention the secular world of advertising, where it's not unheard of to hear and see everything from bill boards, to magazine ads to TV commercials and radio spots, not to mention the actual shows themselves, discussing young people's "need to know"... From pigs pedalling condoms to the cute, young, late teen and 20-somethings, giggling about the latest and greatest new birth control pill that not only prevents pregnancy, but gives "shorter, lighter periods" and is great for the complexion! (as an aside, I have to say that I DID actually see a TV commercial - can't remember the channel now- about a week ago with a young guy talking about how great sex is, and how he can't wait, but, he has chosen to stay a virgin right now, and as a result doesn't have to worry about being "tested" or any of the other hundreds of STD's that are now in existence... The closing plug was that abstinence was 100% effective - when used properly - for prevention of pregnancy and/or contracting disease.)
My remaining thought is, what is it about these girls lives that is missing that causes them to want to create their own love for themselves?... Did any of them have a stay at home mom? How many of them have both parents still at home?... How many of them had healthy, strong relationships with their parents, either or both?... I don't know the answers to these questions, and I don't know that the answers would reveal anything new... I won't count on the secular media asking any of them, either... All we can do now is pray for them, and for the lives they carry... In all honesty, I don't know that my kids will grow up without ever having to experience this, just because they are growing up now in a home where both biological parents still live together, and I stay home to raise them during the day... Statistically, I'd say their chances are better that they will make better choices, though.... Again, some days all I can do, is pray...
A baby is not a new "toy". A baby is not something that you can just take out and play house with when you feel like it, and put away when you've had enough. Baby's are work, and commitment and unconditional love... and I'm not talking about their love for you but YOUR love for them... and trust me, some days, or nights, when your walking the floor with caulic, or woke by screaming, sometimes puking, when they learn to walk and move around and have destroyed your favorite glass or ceramics or anything that might be special to you... they aren't real lovable... When you want to go out with friends, and you don't have a babysitter, when you can hardly afford to eat any of the things you like because it costs too much trying to feed and diaper a baby... When you feel like you have no life anymore because everything circles around the baby that you insisted that you wanted and were ready for... And have any of them thought about the possibility of having multiples? or a special needs child?... A stubborn kid might tell me that she's thought of all that, and that she is still "ready"... uh-huh... "hearing" and "thinking" about it and saying one's ready is one thing... actually "living" it is really quite something else...
The Mayor of the town that these girls are from, Carolyn Kirk tried to blame a lack of funding for "health education" and THAT'S why so many girls came up pregnant, not because of a "pact"... hhhmmm... I'm sorry Ms. Kirk, but do you really suspect that NOT ONE of these girls knew about birth control?! Call me "naive" but honestly in today's public school systems "health education" is literally shoved down the throats of young students. Not to mention the secular world of advertising, where it's not unheard of to hear and see everything from bill boards, to magazine ads to TV commercials and radio spots, not to mention the actual shows themselves, discussing young people's "need to know"... From pigs pedalling condoms to the cute, young, late teen and 20-somethings, giggling about the latest and greatest new birth control pill that not only prevents pregnancy, but gives "shorter, lighter periods" and is great for the complexion! (as an aside, I have to say that I DID actually see a TV commercial - can't remember the channel now- about a week ago with a young guy talking about how great sex is, and how he can't wait, but, he has chosen to stay a virgin right now, and as a result doesn't have to worry about being "tested" or any of the other hundreds of STD's that are now in existence... The closing plug was that abstinence was 100% effective - when used properly - for prevention of pregnancy and/or contracting disease.)
My remaining thought is, what is it about these girls lives that is missing that causes them to want to create their own love for themselves?... Did any of them have a stay at home mom? How many of them have both parents still at home?... How many of them had healthy, strong relationships with their parents, either or both?... I don't know the answers to these questions, and I don't know that the answers would reveal anything new... I won't count on the secular media asking any of them, either... All we can do now is pray for them, and for the lives they carry... In all honesty, I don't know that my kids will grow up without ever having to experience this, just because they are growing up now in a home where both biological parents still live together, and I stay home to raise them during the day... Statistically, I'd say their chances are better that they will make better choices, though.... Again, some days all I can do, is pray...
1 comment:
I was so sad when I heard about this...my guess is they are seeking love really badly and think a baby will solve their problems. Of course they've probably only seen all those lovely formula commercials where the mom is peacefully rocking her newborn to sleep or all the pictures of celebrities with their babies (apparently its very in vouge to have a baby as your latest accessory...I've noticed all the little toy dogs have been replaced by babies in the magazines). I keep telling Matt that even though we were married and stuff I really had no idea what I was saying yes to when we decided to be open to life. Nothing could have prepared me for morning sickness, crampy legs, no energy, and no sleep, let alone the finish line I have to cross one of these days. I really don't think any of those girls is really thinking about the long term either, like having a toddler, then a teenager (eep!), and so on.
Post a Comment