Pretty disturbing news out of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Apparently, a group of girls, none over the age of 16, from Gloucester High School, made a pact to all get pregnant at around the same time. The story stems from an investigation made into a mysterious spike in teen pregnancies at the high school. This year, there were 17 pregnant female students at that school, and about half of them were involved in this pact. Protests were waged by school officials, and the town is in a bit of an uproar. The normal rate of pregnancy at the school was four per year. My high school averages around two (none back in my senior year).
I first heard of the story from a friend, but was quite surprised to hear it discussed on The Tony Kornheiser Show today. Mr. Tony was pretty much spot on with his comments. He basically questioned the motives of the girls and wondered what would possess a group of girls to make a pact to do something like this. They're obviously too young to be able to support a child, and it only puts a burden on the family if they decide to keep the baby. They just seemed to be desperate to get pregnant, which is scary. One of them allegedly slept with a homeless man to keep her end of the pact. It's deeply disturbing to me.
Christopher Farmer, Superintendent, told WBZ-TV, that most of the girls involved in the pact had low self-esteem and "wanted love in their lives." They almost hoped that the babies would love them without question. It seems that all of them severely lack any foresight.
It's strange timing that I should hear about this story today. Last night I began reading Freakonomics, a book by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner (who also are behind the Freakonomics blog). The first chapter told the story of Norma L. McCorvey, later known as Jane Roe. Back in 1970, McCorvey, a poor, uneducated, unskilled, alcoholic, drug-abusing single woman, found herself pregnant. McCorvey was living in Dallas, Texas, where it was illegal to seek an abortion. What ended up as the story of one woman became a national phenomenon, when in 1973, Roe v. Wade was settled in the Supreme Court in favor of Roe. Abortion was legalized nationwide.
Dubner and Levitt contest that Roe v. Wade was more than just a moral issue of pro-life advocates vs. abortion supporters. It was, in fact, the likely cause of the decline of the teenage crime rate in the mid 1990's. How? Do the math. A child born in the mid to late 1970's, when abortion became much more widespread, would have reached his or her late teens in the mid 1990's. For example, a boy born in 1975 would turn 18 in 1993. What would the likelihood have been for him to become a criminal had he been born in a poor family to a single mother who couldn't afford the child? What if that child hadn't been born at all? It's simple population control.
I'm not saying abortion would solve the world's problems. I'm not even advocating it in one broad stroke. I don't think it should be up to the Federal Government either way. I just think this particular story about desperate high school girls, who need anything in their lives except for an innocent child, reminds people that there are cases where the child's well-being should take precedence. I also won't go so far as some in the Gloucester community are going in saying that the girls should be force fed morning-after pills (that seems to be an even bigger moral issue). I just think the parents need to be more involved in showing their daughters that a baby is not a fad or a sign of maturity. It's a fucking baby.
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