I feel sorry for Sarah Palin's children

[RainDog]

just as I feel sorry for all children, MOST ESPECIALLY FEMALES, who have to grow up in homes that try to pretend it's okay to ignore issues of teen sexuality.

I do not know one person who wants teens to have sex. However, every person I know who has talked about this issue supports birth control for sexually active teens because every person I know does not want teenage girls to become mothers when they are not emotionally, financially, and otherwise able to care for a child.

Children should not be having children. Teenagers should not be denied birth control because they have idiots for parents. If a girl is old enough to make a decision to have sex, she should be able to obtain birth control without parental consent.

The irony in all this, of course, is that Gore's daughters and Clinton's daughter and Carter's daughter... all these people were able to have children that had the sense of purpose in life to wait to have children until they are in a position to do so.

Why are so many of the people who oppose access to birth control and information about contraception also the ones with the most out-of-wedlock pregancies, the highest divorce rates, and the most obnoxious attitudes to those who would like to apply common sense to sexual issues?

How capable is ANY leader who would seek to deny teenagers access to contraceptives and health care, knowing that humans are humans, after all, and to pretend otherwise is to put some at a disadvantage that is not necessary?

I'm not talking about abortion at all. I'm talking about birth control pills. I wish someone would do a survey of how many middle and upper class daughters are taking birth control pills b/c they have "menstrual pain" and other such problems that are easy excuses to have daughters on the pill without directly addressing whether or not such girls are sexually active?

I really feel sorry for Palin's children. I would feel even worse if she were ever within spitting distance of the whitehouse because we really do not need another idiot like Bush anywhere near the halls of power.

[Tikki]

1. This older pregnant girl is also a sister to...

two younger sisters. Many younger sisters will learn the realities
from watching how this unfolds in their family...and some,unfortunately, may
follow in the older sister's example seeing her as someone who is modeling their life for them.

P.S. I hope Bristol gets to go to University some day...her mother did, you know.

Tikki

[RainDog]

4. republicans have screwy family values

I could never think that it's okay to sacrifice my daughter's teen years because she had sex. this issue is so female-centric because, face it, it is the female who deals with all sides of this issue.

It just makes me sick. It's so backward.

I hope she has a chance to go to college too. I also hope her mom isn't vp. It would be like having Britney Spears' mom as vp. :puke:

[marshall]

5. True--how did Dick and Lynne Cheney produce Mary?

It boggles the mind to see them living in families that defy their own values.

[RainDog]

6. We all know Dick's response to the religious right

it's the same as the one he gave to Leahy - Go fuck yourself.

He only uses them to have the power to do what he wants. If he would have power otherwise, they could all go to hell as far as he's concerned.

[ColbertWatcher]

9. ...

:puke:

[Growler]

2. great post!

[Growler]

3. great post! n/t

[Warpy]

7. I was lucky. I got the birth control lecture at home

including the "diaphragms by themselves are not that effective. That's how you got here."

The mechanics of condoms, creams, foams, and diaphragms are probably what deterred me from early experimentation--it just looked like too much of a hassle, never mind the hassle of the pregnancy they prevented. When the pill came out and I lied my way into getting it (it was for married women, only, you understand) I found it made me sick as hell. The mechanics of mechanical birth control remained a powerful deterrent to what is now referred to as hooking up.

This would seem to be the case in a lot of countries where complete sex education is given in the schools, especially in western Europe. First sex is delayed and teenage/unwed pregnancy figures a lot lower than ours.

Ignorance is not working. We know that beyond a shadow of a doubt that no matter how much a kid loves Jesus, biology will trump preaching.

It's time to try something different. It's time to try education.

[Sequoia]

8. Poor girl, having to be dragged into the limelight because of politics.

Now she has to marry that redneck boyfriend of hers. Poor girl, I feel badly for her. "Mom! Why didn't you tell me!"

[Sheets of Easter]

10. I do too, by all accounts.

It doesn't exclude Bristol's pregnancy from being an extremely important issue, though. In the unlikely event that McCain is president, and in the unlikely event that something should happen to him, it means that Sarah Palin gets to decide how millions of underage girls in this country will deal with sexuality and pregnancy. Not good at all.

[The Stranger]

11. I agree, except that --

-- the same thing goes for boys. They should not be out there impregnating teenage girls when they are not ready emotionally, financially, and otherwise, to have children. And they require the same teaching, support and resources in order to be able to protect themselves when sexually active.

[RainDog]

12. of course, but the reality is that there is no birth control via males that is as reliable

there are female forms of contraception that are 98% reliable. condoms and spermicide do not reach that same level, esp. with issues of use/application.

I have two sons and we had the talk about sex and about how it is their responsibility too, not just their partner's, if they are sexually active. We talked about sex openly when they were growing up and they knew they could ask either parent for condoms, etc.

They are both very responsible. Knowing about sex did not make them go out and become libertines. The idea that such is the case for teenagers is such bullshit I want to scream.

[The Stranger]

14. Well, that's true.

When I was a teenage boy, it was made very clear to me, although it was less of a discussion and more a "telling" to me of how it was going to be. But I guess I should be grateful for that. And although condoms are not as reliable in preventing pregnancy, they also prevent the spread of STD's.

That having been said, with incredible amounts of hormones raging through my body, it wasn't a question of whether I would choose to have sex, but whether the opportunity would ever simply present itself.

[Marrah_G]

13. I agree

My daughter went on the pill at 13 after having 2 surgeries for separate large ovarian cysts. She would have been on it by 15 or 16 anyway. We were always pretty open about it.

[theboss]

15. How do we know that they ignored the issue of teen sexuality?

Don't conflate public positions with private actions.

[RainDog]

16. Palin is on the record in support of abstinence only

and, in the context of my post, I said I feel sorry for ALL teenage girls.

Her public position seems to be indicative of her private positions since she has a sexually active daughter who is pregnant. Either she supports abstinence only or she supports unwed sex without birth control. which one do you think it is?

[theboss]

17. My mom is in favor of abstinence only for everyone - including my father, I think

She still told me about condoms.

[TahitiNut]

18. Sarah Palin espouses a political ideology that MAKES the 'private' PUBLIC.

Fuck her. She tries to claim the protections from a scrutiny that she DENIES others. "Right To Privacy" is the core of Roe vs. Wade. Fuck her.

[MoeHayNow]

19. The only reason to feel sorry for her kids...

is the fact that they have Sarah Palin for a mother.