PREGNANCY PACT: High Schoolers Plotted To Get Pregnant, Raise Babies Together (VIDEO)

Seventeen girls at Gloucester High School in Gloucester, Massachussetts are pregnant — and it's not an accident.

According to Time magazine, the girls planned the pregnancies as part of a "pregnancy pact" to get pregnant and raise their babies together.

None of the girls is older than 16; one reportedly achieved her goal thanks to the help of a 24-year-old homeless man.

There is speculation already that the girls were influenced by the glamorization of teen pregnancy in celebrity culture — Jamie Lynn Spears, who just had her baby, comes to mind — but also the glamorization of "bumps" on stars like Angelina Jolie, Ashlee Simpson, Jessica Alba and Gwyneth Paltrow. Others cite movies like Juno and Knocked Up for making pregnancy seem like a viable option that will ultimately work out great, complete with loving, sensitive boyfriend-turned-father.

There is also concern that the girls made the pact in a bid for security — a short-term effort to be cared for and supported as an alternative to the bleak prospects of the small fishing town.

The first hint that the higher-than-usual number of pregnancies at the school was more than a coincidence came via the school health clinic, where girls would make multiple visits for pregnancy tests, and "seemed more upset when they weren't pregnant than when they were."

See video coverage on MSNBC below:

Related:
Pregnancy Boom at Gloucester High [Time]
The Jonas Brothers Do Not Cause Teen Pregnancy [NRO]
Jamie Lynn Spears Birth, Teen Pregnancy Increase Concern Experts: 'Babies Need And Deserve Adult Parents' [MTV]

Comments

[wandagag]

Wow, when I first heard this story yesterday I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I mean, how cool is it that a group of girls 16 and under were able to coordinate a mass pregnancy. SEVENTEEN people??? Awesome! I can't even get FOUR friends of mine to agree on a place and time to get dinner, let alone start families. (And we're 43.)
Seriously, these girls have shown an incredible amount of foresight and planning that will totally be of use to them in the business world. So many people my age are apathetic and have no motivation. It so refreshing to hear a case of kids younger than me getting together, setting a goal, and moving 100% towards that goal. Decisiveness is a rare thing and these girls have it. If only our government had a fraction of the creativity and resourcefulness these girls have shown in getting pregnant we might actually have jobs and working public institutions.