While of course abstinence is the ideal way to go about not getting pregnant and not getting any STD’s for teenagers, it is of course also not the most realistic or practical way to preach these safety issues to avoid teen pregnancy and also the spread of dangerous sexually transmitted diseases among the young population, who are at risk of essentially losing their childhood and also missing out on a lot of opportunities of growth to get into adulthood with a leg up for things like college and other opportunities that having a child can definitely make much more complicated.

Bristol Palin, Sarah Palin’s daughter, has expressed recently in an interview that she understands why abstinence is preached, but does not think it is very realistic.  I happen to agree with her, I remember being a teen and the raging hormones and sexual curiousity that went along with it.  Do you know how hard it is for kids to not even experiment with kissing, heavy petting, and other sexually charged activities?  I know that there are some who practice abstinence and keep their virginity due to moral or religious beliefs, and I applaud that, but for the majority of teens in America, this type of stringent belief system and self discipline simply is not very realistic.

Bristol Palin’s teen pregnancy was a point of contention in the Alaska governor (her mom’s) race for the vice president along with John McCain, and was given a little bit of attention because Sarah Palin is a known conservative who opposes abortion, but Bristol says that it is not true her mother made her carry through with the pregnancy, that it was her own decision and no one elses. I have to applaud her.  She seems courageous, even though it’s definitely not the ideal situation, and it also sounds like the father of the baby is very involved in the parenting.

We also have to remember that way back when, pregnancy and birthing at this young age was considered normal, it’s just that the age for having babies that’s socially acceptable has fallen back due to things like longer life spans and women’s liberation and so forth.  Hopefully her and the baby’s father can raise it together with minimal scrutiny from the media, and with the love and support that every baby deserves in this life, and it sounds like that’s exactly what’s happening right now.

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Posted in Men's News by David L No Comments Yet