What Was Bristol's Plan A?

It's hard to imagine that this is how Bristol Palin wanted her senior year of high school to turn out: She's five months pregnant, transferring to a new school away from all her friends, and the father of her baby has posted on his MySpace page that he's a "redneck" who is not interested in having kids.

Pregnancy, a baby, and now marriage probably weren't in her plans before prom. And yet, one night, like hundreds of thousands of other teen girls, she had unprotected sex with her boyfriend and took the risk of getting pregnant. But why? In an age when pregnancy information is a mouse-click away and condoms are available at every 7-11, why are so many teen girls still getting pregnant?

At Seventeen we hear all the time from girls who say that they just "ended up having sex" and weren't prepared with birth control. Or they say that they didn't insist on using condoms because they felt awkward and embarrassed. Instead of protecting themselves, they risk getting pregnant and risk a future that won't turn out the way they had planned.

In a Seventeen /The Candie's Foundation Teen Pregnancy Survey earlier this year a whopping 70% of girls say that having a plan for their future would help prevent unplanned pregnancy. So we ran a contest asking girls to share the dreams that were helping prevent their unplanned pregnancy--their Plan A.

The winning girls made videos about winning an academy award and being a boxer. But they might just as well have made it about one day being the highest ranking woman in the U.S. government.

No matter how you feel about her politics, Sarah Palin is a shining example of the potential and power of women. And in one hot moment with her boyfriend, her daughter gave away her power to make the decisions about how she wanted her future to play out.

It's our responsibility to feed teen girls' dreams for the future and encourage them to be proactive in their destiny so they stop letting unplanned pregnancy "just happen."

Comments

[Tremonius]

A feature I don't see mentioned anywhere is the necessity of the appearance of spontaneity during a hot date. It was in my day important, at least to her, for the girl to be seen as suddenly swept away in a surge of love, or at least emotion, and bringing along and setting up props sort of destroys the myth. It's like Dohbya bringing along a photographer to catch any synthetic tears he may be able to force for the Family of the Fallen he had killed in pursuance of his legacy.

[wagadog]

Well we haven't heard BOO from a goose about Bristol's COLLEGE plans, that's for sure.

[metivo]

None of the Palin children seem interested in college. What does that tell you?

[jsarets]

As Ole Rummy would say, "Stuff happens. Freedom is messy". I don't think these people fully grasp the concept of cause and effect, let alone personal responsibility.

[zedthewizard]

i'm unsure that i agree. the potential is unrealized. the power is unrealized. she's perhaps not my cup of tea. palin however was picked in a political maneuver. palin received a job because lieberman was vetoed by "the party" due to his social and political views including abortion. she was picked for how she thought and not what she has done. she has been elevated far above anything she has done and and her behavior. palin is now hindering an ethics investigation and her campaign is stalling her testimony. you will use this person to feed you female's dreams. pretending something or someone is not who they are seems somehow hollow to me and the antithesis of feminsism.

[Bulldoglover]

It's called education in our schools and at home, it's called parental involvment in our children's live....a mistake apparently on Palins parents part and it's called having access to condoms and Planned Parenthood. All 3 things? Bristol's Mother wants to do away with...and her daughter is now a shining example of her Mother's plan being a total failure and the victim in this sad scenerio? is Bristol Palin who was let down by the very parental units that should have been front and center to educate and help her.

[kcjc]

Are you for real? We have the education, we have access to condoms and we have planned parenthood. There are still going to be pregnancies among young women. One of the greatest things to happen to me was an unplanned pregnacy. I have realized that there is a mentality that it makes them unwanted. YOU ARE WRONG. There are millions of beautiful love stories that began with an unplanned pregnacy. I admire this young lady and I am ashamed of the media even having a say in this situation. Whether you believe in God or karma or whatever..­..the positive light shines on her for her decision. Leave her alone, and let her have her life.

[Bulldoglover]

Your being emotional as opposed to realistic. Just because your happy with your unplanned pregnancy does not mean everyone is...I would venture to say that your not the norm. To most? they are low income, without support from the Fathers and rely on the goverment for help. While you may be
happy" with your mistake? It is still a mistake that should not happen with proper guidence from parents and figures of authority in school and access to services that help to prevent unplanned Pregnancy. Being happy after the fact? Is one really uneducad, stupid form of birth control.
As for having all those services avaliable? Enjoy them while you can because if Palin gets in? Those services will be a thing of the past.

[mabinog]

there are probably a million, as you put it, equally ugly relationship disasters that involve abuse, addiction, immaturity and end in divorce.

You were lucky and blessed, that does not mean that it works for everyone or that teenage girls should blindly enter into relationships thinking every unplanned pregnancy will end in a fairy tale, Happily ever after.

[peorgietirebiter]

wWould your pregnancy have been any less a blessing had it been planned? Both of my now grown children were arguably unplanned (we planned on having children) and they were and are the blessing of my life, but I think your argument may be a bit defensive.
And I have to point out when you say "the positive light shines on her for her decision." surely you realize that her making any decision required having a choice. Bristol's mother wants to deny women the right to make the decision either way. The light goes out.

[jja]

This whole thing is so sad to me and so complicated. I feel so badly for Bristol, the boyfriend and the entire family. Sure this is a private, sensative issue. Sure if my daughter should end up pregnant and unwed, my family would rally around her. This young girl, and that is what she is, is now having her whole life altered by one bad dicision. The Palin family understandablly would like to keep this private. If that truly is the case then don't run for vice president and don't knowingly put your family under this microscope.

Sarah Palin supports, or at least we think she does since there is very little record and no "real" interviews, limited government support for programs that would help teenage mothers have more opportunities to lead productive lives. So now that she herself has a teenage, unwed, pregnant daughter I wonder if her position would change. I always am puzzled by the stance that "I am pro-life and it is unthinkable that any woman no matter the circumstances should not keep an unwanted pregnancy. I also support cutting the funding to programs that provide supportive services to women who chose to keep their babies"

Either it is private or it's not. You can't have it both ways. And if it is a private matter, then I should be able to make up my own mind about what is right for myself, my family, my health and my future.

[deeppeace]

You may believe there is 'planned parenthood,' kcjc, but where I live, Planned Parenthood the organization has had its funding taken away, thus leaving several counties unsupported not only in family planning, but in STD control, maternity care and early childhood health care.

And I'll bet the farm that for all of your 'millions of beautiful love stories' there is an equal number that DIDN'T end up on Baby Week at TLC. Else why would we have so many teenagers drowning, abandoning, microwaving or tossing their babies off bridges (at worst) or, at best, abandoning plans of education, of travel, of being a normal kid, of spending life with the right partner, not just the potent one?

Let's take the governor's daughter's name out of it, but there's never a wrong time to have an intelligent discussion about responsible family planning and - for the next few weeks, anyway, Gov. Palin's stand on it.