Gloucester High pregnancy pact story-- *updated*

maxter · Jun 19th, 2008, 07:02 PM

Time Magazine link here

Pregnancy Boom at Gloucester High
Wednesday, Jun. 18, 2008 By KATHLEEN KINGSBURY

As summer vacation begins, 17 girls at Gloucester High School are expecting babies—more than four times the number of pregnancies the 1,200-student school had last year. Some adults dismissed the statistic as a blip. Others blamed hit movies like Juno and Knocked Up for glamorizing young unwed mothers. But principal Joseph Sullivan knows at least part of the reason there's been such a spike in teen pregnancies in this Massachusetts fishing town. School officials started looking into the matter as early as October after an unusual number of girls began filing into the school clinic to find out if they were pregnant. By May, several students had returned multiple times to get pregnancy tests, and on hearing the results, "some girls seemed more upset when they weren't pregnant than when they were," Sullivan says. All it took was a few simple questions before nearly half the expecting students, none older than 16, confessed to making a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together. Then the story got worse. "We found out one of the fathers is a 24-year-old homeless guy," the principal says, shaking his head.

The question of what to do next has divided this fiercely Catholic enclave. Even with national data showing a 3% rise in teen pregnancies in 2006—the first increase in 15 years—Gloucester isn't sure it wants to provide easier access to birth control. In any case, many residents worry that the problem goes much deeper. The past decade has been difficult for this mostly white, mostly blue-collar city (pop. 30,000). In Gloucester, perched on scenic Cape Ann, the economy has always depended on a strong fishing industry. But in recent years, such jobs have all but disappeared overseas, and with them much of the community's wherewithal. "Families are broken," says school superintendent Christopher Farmer. "Many of our young people are growing up directionless."

The girls who made the pregnancy pact—some of whom, according to Sullivan, reacted to the news that they were expecting with high fives and plans for baby showers—declined to be interviewed. So did their parents. But Amanda Ireland, who graduated from Gloucester High on June 8, thinks she knows why these girls wanted to get pregnant. Ireland, 18, gave birth her freshman year and says some of her now pregnant schoolmates regularly approached her in the hall, remarking how lucky she was to have a baby. "They're so excited to finally have someone to love them unconditionally," Ireland says. "I try to explain it's hard to feel loved when an infant is screaming to be fed at 3 a.m."

The high school has done perhaps too good a job of embracing young mothers. Sex-ed classes end freshman year at Gloucester, where teen parents are encouraged to take their children to a free on-site day-care center. Strollers mingle seamlessly in school hallways among cheerleaders and junior ROTC. "We're proud to help the mothers stay in school," says Sue Todd, CEO of Pathways for Children, which runs the day-care center.
But by May, after nurse practitioner Kim Daly had administered some 150 pregnancy tests at Gloucester High's student clinic, she and the clinic's medical director, Dr. Brian Orr, a local pediatrician, began to advocate prescribing contraceptives regardless of parental consent, a practice at about 15 public high schools in Massachusetts. Currently Gloucester teens must travel about 20 miles (30 km) to reach the nearest women's health clinic; younger girls have to get a ride or take the train and walk. But the notion of a school handing out birth control pills has met with hostility. Says Mayor Carolyn Kirk: "Dr. Orr and Ms. Daly have no right to decide this for our children." The pair resigned in protest on May 30.

Gloucester's elected school committee plans to vote later this summer on whether to provide contraceptives. But that won't do much to solve the issue of teens wanting to get pregnant. Says rising junior Kacia Lowe, who is a classmate of the pactmakers': "No one's offered them a better option." And better options may be a tall order in a city so uncertain of its future.

—with reporting by Kimberley McLeod/New York

maxter · Jun 19th, 2008, 07:04 PM

And this from wbztv.com here

Gloucester Teens Had Pact To Get Pregnant

GLOUCESTER, Mass. (WBZ) ― There's a stunning twist to the sudden rise in teen pregnancies at Gloucester High School. Seventeen students there are expecting and many of them became that way on purpose.

Time Magazine first reported that nearly half of the girls confessed to making a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together. None of them is older than 16.

Schools Superintendent Christopher Farmer told WBZ's Bill Shields Thursday the girls had "an agreement to get pregnant."

Farmer said these are generally "girls who lack self-esteem and have a lack of love in their life."

"The common threat is the lack of self-esteem and purpose in life, and a lack of a sense of direction," said Farmer. "Young women wanting and needing affection."

Principal Joseph Sullivan has not returned calls from WBZ for comment.

Sullivan told the magazine that the pact wasn't the only shocking incident.

"We found out one of the fathers is a 24-year-old homeless guy," he told Time.

Last month, two top officials at the high school's health center resigned in a fight over contraceptives distribution.

Medical Director Dr. Brian Orr and chief nurse practitioner Kim Daly support confidentially giving contraceptives to students. They were outraged about resistance from Addison Gilbert Hospital, which administers the state public health grant that funds the school clinic.

Normally, the school has about four pregnancies per school year.

According to Time, school officials started looking into the spike in pregnancies after an unusual number of girls came to the school clinic for pregnancy tests. Some came by several times.

"Some girls seemed more upset when they weren't pregnant than when they were," Sullivan told the magazine.

The pregnant girls and their parents turned down requests to be interviewed.

A recent graduate who had a baby during her freshman year told Time she knows why the girls wanted to get pregnant.

"They're so excited to finally have someone to love them unconditionally," Amanda Ireland, 18, said. "I try to explain it's hard to feel loved when an infant is screaming to be fed at 3 a.m."

Ireland also spoke with WBZ about her young pregnancy.

"I don't call it a mistake because the way I look at is everything happens for a reason," Ireland said. "But, no, she was not planned."

WBZ has also tried to contact Mayor Carolyn Kirk and Public Health Director Jack Vondras. Both are said to be out of town this week.

Beyond the social implications of the pregnancies, there are some legal questions being asked, including whether the men who fathered the babies will face charges of statutory rape.

ValleyO · Jun 19th, 2008, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxter

"We found out one of the fathers is a 24-year-old homeless guy,"

EWWW

What were these girls thinking?!?! And what is the school thinking by allowing babies to become accessories in a learning enviroment?

leothelnss · Jun 19th, 2008, 07:30 PM

"No one has provided a better option?"
Maybe try parenting. Maybe try grounding your stupid, sexed up kids so that they can't go around fulfilling promises to their friends to get pregnant!! What the hell?? This is soo sad. They're children themselves!

compulsivepurse · Jun 19th, 2008, 08:35 PM

The girls sound like morons. Really. Even at 14 & 15 I knew that getting knocked up could ruin your entire future (at least for several years - IF you graduate and can get back on your feet.)

ragamuffin · Jun 19th, 2008, 09:09 PM

This story really upsets me. I have mentioned before that I had my son when I was 15.
It was the hardest thing I have ever done, I finished school in two and a half years and I have gone on to be quite successful in my career. But I know that I would have never been able to do it with out the help of my loving and supportive parents.
These girls have no idea what they are in for! I missed so much stuff in high school but I was to busy trying to finish high school and working 3 jobs while trying to raise a toddler, to be able to go out to football games and house parties. I wouldn't change my life for anything, but I sure as heck would never recommend it. I wouldn't say that they have ruined their lives, but they have made things so much harder for themselves. It's so sad that they have done this over a silly pact that they have made with their friends. It is a very unfortunate situation.

caxe · Jun 19th, 2008, 09:31 PM

I always wonder what's wrong with women who say they want to have a baby because it will "love them unconditionally."

Um, actually, no, it won't! LOL Ask the parent of any teen out there.

As for these girls...this is just trifling; it's very sad. Their parents must be super-proud.

Nymph · Jun 19th, 2008, 10:06 PM

This is CRAZY!!!! Why would anyone get pregnant on a pact, just for "unconditional" love?!?!?!

Pursegrrl · Jun 20th, 2008, 12:39 AM

Frightening.

LoVe YoU! · Jun 20th, 2008, 02:23 AM

its very sad to make a pact! i am 19 i cant wait to have children, but thats after i have enjoyed eveything i can and i would never make a pact with friends.

QueenOfDa702 · Jun 20th, 2008, 02:37 AM

STUPID, STUPID, STUPID, I cant say it enough. Thats for the dumb little girls AND their parents!

JuiceBox · Jun 20th, 2008, 02:44 AM

They all feel like a baby will provide them with love they dont have but I'm sure as hell newborn babies won't show you love at all!

Emotus · Jun 20th, 2008, 04:33 AM

^ puberty does that. It mess up your hormone and turn you into a emotional wreck.
They are in the stage when they need loads of attention and love. However, that was a very wrong approach. :/

Sternchen · Jun 20th, 2008, 05:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JuiceBox

They all feel like a baby will provide them with love they dont have but I'm sure as hell newborn babies won't show you love at all!

Nah, with all the screaming they do they make you feel like the hate you!

LV-PRADAfanatic · Jun 20th, 2008, 07:22 AM

that a stupid idea...

Jun 19th, 2008, 07:02 PM	#1
maxter Member Joined: Feb 2006 Posts: 5,845	Gloucester High pregnancy pact story-- updated Time Magazine link here Pregnancy Boom at Gloucester High Wednesday, Jun. 18, 2008 By KATHLEEN KINGSBURY As summer vacation begins, 17 girls at Gloucester High School are expecting babies—more than four times the number of pregnancies the 1,200-student school had last year. Some adults dismissed the statistic as a blip. Others blamed hit movies like Juno and Knocked Up for glamorizing young unwed mothers. But principal Joseph Sullivan knows at least part of the reason there's been such a spike in teen pregnancies in this Massachusetts fishing town. School officials started looking into the matter as early as October after an unusual number of girls began filing into the school clinic to find out if they were pregnant. By May, several students had returned multiple times to get pregnancy tests, and on hearing the results, "some girls seemed more upset when they weren't pregnant than when they were," Sullivan says. All it took was a few simple questions before nearly half the expecting students, none older than 16, confessed to making a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together. Then the story got worse. "We found out one of the fathers is a 24-year-old homeless guy," the principal says, shaking his head. The question of what to do next has divided this fiercely Catholic enclave. Even with national data showing a 3% rise in teen pregnancies in 2006—the first increase in 15 years—Gloucester isn't sure it wants to provide easier access to birth control. In any case, many residents worry that the problem goes much deeper. The past decade has been difficult for this mostly white, mostly blue-collar city (pop. 30,000). In Gloucester, perched on scenic Cape Ann, the economy has always depended on a strong fishing industry. But in recent years, such jobs have all but disappeared overseas, and with them much of the community's wherewithal. "Families are broken," says school superintendent Christopher Farmer. "Many of our young people are growing up directionless." The girls who made the pregnancy pact—some of whom, according to Sullivan, reacted to the news that they were expecting with high fives and plans for baby showers—declined to be interviewed. So did their parents. But Amanda Ireland, who graduated from Gloucester High on June 8, thinks she knows why these girls wanted to get pregnant. Ireland, 18, gave birth her freshman year and says some of her now pregnant schoolmates regularly approached her in the hall, remarking how lucky she was to have a baby. "They're so excited to finally have someone to love them unconditionally," Ireland says. "I try to explain it's hard to feel loved when an infant is screaming to be fed at 3 a.m." The high school has done perhaps too good a job of embracing young mothers. Sex-ed classes end freshman year at Gloucester, where teen parents are encouraged to take their children to a free on-site day-care center. Strollers mingle seamlessly in school hallways among cheerleaders and junior ROTC. "We're proud to help the mothers stay in school," says Sue Todd, CEO of Pathways for Children, which runs the day-care center. But by May, after nurse practitioner Kim Daly had administered some 150 pregnancy tests at Gloucester High's student clinic, she and the clinic's medical director, Dr. Brian Orr, a local pediatrician, began to advocate prescribing contraceptives regardless of parental consent, a practice at about 15 public high schools in Massachusetts. Currently Gloucester teens must travel about 20 miles (30 km) to reach the nearest women's health clinic; younger girls have to get a ride or take the train and walk. But the notion of a school handing out birth control pills has met with hostility. Says Mayor Carolyn Kirk: "Dr. Orr and Ms. Daly have no right to decide this for our children." The pair resigned in protest on May 30. Gloucester's elected school committee plans to vote later this summer on whether to provide contraceptives. But that won't do much to solve the issue of teens wanting to get pregnant. Says rising junior Kacia Lowe, who is a classmate of the pactmakers': "No one's offered them a better option." And better options may be a tall order in a city so uncertain of its future. —with reporting by Kimberley McLeod/New York
maxter Member Joined: Feb 2006 Posts: 5,845	Last edited by maxter; Jun 19th, 2008 at 07:31 PM.

Jun 19th, 2008, 07:04 PM	#2
maxter Member Joined: Feb 2006 Posts: 5,845	And this from wbztv.com here Gloucester Teens Had Pact To Get Pregnant GLOUCESTER, Mass. (WBZ) ― There's a stunning twist to the sudden rise in teen pregnancies at Gloucester High School. Seventeen students there are expecting and many of them became that way on purpose. Time Magazine first reported that nearly half of the girls confessed to making a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together. None of them is older than 16. Schools Superintendent Christopher Farmer told WBZ's Bill Shields Thursday the girls had "an agreement to get pregnant." Farmer said these are generally "girls who lack self-esteem and have a lack of love in their life." "The common threat is the lack of self-esteem and purpose in life, and a lack of a sense of direction," said Farmer. "Young women wanting and needing affection." Principal Joseph Sullivan has not returned calls from WBZ for comment. Sullivan told the magazine that the pact wasn't the only shocking incident. "We found out one of the fathers is a 24-year-old homeless guy," he told Time. Last month, two top officials at the high school's health center resigned in a fight over contraceptives distribution. Medical Director Dr. Brian Orr and chief nurse practitioner Kim Daly support confidentially giving contraceptives to students. They were outraged about resistance from Addison Gilbert Hospital, which administers the state public health grant that funds the school clinic. Normally, the school has about four pregnancies per school year. According to Time, school officials started looking into the spike in pregnancies after an unusual number of girls came to the school clinic for pregnancy tests. Some came by several times. "Some girls seemed more upset when they weren't pregnant than when they were," Sullivan told the magazine. The pregnant girls and their parents turned down requests to be interviewed. A recent graduate who had a baby during her freshman year told Time she knows why the girls wanted to get pregnant. "They're so excited to finally have someone to love them unconditionally," Amanda Ireland, 18, said. "I try to explain it's hard to feel loved when an infant is screaming to be fed at 3 a.m." Ireland also spoke with WBZ about her young pregnancy. "I don't call it a mistake because the way I look at is everything happens for a reason," Ireland said. "But, no, she was not planned." WBZ has also tried to contact Mayor Carolyn Kirk and Public Health Director Jack Vondras. Both are said to be out of town this week. Beyond the social implications of the pregnancies, there are some legal questions being asked, including whether the men who fathered the babies will face charges of statutory rape.
maxter Member Joined: Feb 2006 Posts: 5,845

Jun 19th, 2008, 07:30 PM	#4
leothelnss I drink ur milkshake Joined: Jan 2008 Location: Oceanside, CA Posts: 5,084	"No one has provided a better option?" Maybe try parenting. Maybe try grounding your stupid, sexed up kids so that they can't go around fulfilling promises to their friends to get pregnant!! What the hell?? This is soo sad. They're children themselves!
	__________________ Cillian Murphy :: Daniel Day-Lewis :: Henry Rollins "your sex is on fire," Kings of Leon Leo's Collection

Jun 19th, 2008, 09:31 PM	#7
caxe Established 1976 Joined: Mar 2007 Location: The Southeast, US Posts: 4,630	I always wonder what's wrong with women who say they want to have a baby because it will "love them unconditionally." Um, actually, no, it won't! LOL Ask the parent of any teen out there. As for these girls...this is just trifling; it's very sad. Their parents must be super-proud.
	__________________ "Debbie Rowe has nothing to do with what we're doing." -- Joe Jackson

Jun 19th, 2008, 10:06 PM	#8
Nymph Black WE please! Joined: Jul 2006 Location: Singapore Posts: 5,247	This is CRAZY!!!! Why would anyone get pregnant on a pact, just for "unconditional" love?!?!?!
	__________________ "If women didn't exist, all the money in the world would have no meaning"

Jun 19th, 2008, 08:35 PM	#5
compulsivepurse Member Joined: Nov 2006 Location: Washington, D.C. Posts: 3,316	The girls sound like morons. Really. Even at 14 & 15 I knew that getting knocked up could ruin your entire future (at least for several years - IF you graduate and can get back on your feet.)

Jun 19th, 2008, 09:09 PM	#6
ragamuffin Member Joined: Dec 2006 Location: All hell for a basement Posts: 616	This story really upsets me. I have mentioned before that I had my son when I was 15. It was the hardest thing I have ever done, I finished school in two and a half years and I have gone on to be quite successful in my career. But I know that I would have never been able to do it with out the help of my loving and supportive parents. These girls have no idea what they are in for! I missed so much stuff in high school but I was to busy trying to finish high school and working 3 jobs while trying to raise a toddler, to be able to go out to football games and house parties. I wouldn't change my life for anything, but I sure as heck would never recommend it. I wouldn't say that they have ruined their lives, but they have made things so much harder for themselves. It's so sad that they have done this over a silly pact that they have made with their friends. It is a very unfortunate situation.

Jun 20th, 2008, 12:39 AM	#9
Pursegrrl Pay attention! Pls!! Joined: Jun 2006 Location: Seattle Posts: 16,345	Frightening.

Jun 20th, 2008, 02:23 AM	#10
LoVe YoU! Member Joined: May 2008 Posts: 100	its very sad to make a pact! i am 19 i cant wait to have children, but thats after i have enjoyed eveything i can and i would never make a pact with friends.
LoVe YoU! Member Joined: May 2008 Posts: 100	__________________ If shopping doesnt bring u happiness ur in the wrong shop!

Jun 20th, 2008, 02:37 AM	#11
QueenOfDa702 R.I.P MJ Joined: Jan 2007 Location: Where its hot, dry, and dusty. Posts: 7,543	STUPID, STUPID, STUPID, I cant say it enough. Thats for the dumb little girls AND their parents!
	__________________ Join us for the ULTIMATE meet in Las Vegas! http://forum.purseblog.com/tpf-meeti...l#post10462717 My Etsy - www.DiBoutique.Etsy.com

Jun 20th, 2008, 02:44 AM	#12
JuiceBox Member Joined: Dec 2006 Location: UK Posts: 2,187	They all feel like a baby will provide them with love they dont have but I'm sure as hell newborn babies won't show you love at all!
	__________________

Jun 20th, 2008, 04:33 AM	#13
Emotus Member Joined: Aug 2007 Location: Not so fine singapore Posts: 1,125	^ puberty does that. It mess up your hormone and turn you into a emotional wreck. They are in the stage when they need loads of attention and love. However, that was a very wrong approach. :/

Jun 20th, 2008, 07:22 AM	#15
LV-PRADAfanatic Built Hot for LV Joined: Oct 2007 Location: That's ME ^_^ Posts: 12,121	that a stupid idea...
	__________________ All so LoVely, so little time to get them all