Reports: Teen girls made pact to get pregnant

[Mumita]

A pact made by a group of teens to get pregnant and raise their babies together is at least partly behind a sudden spike in pregnancies at Gloucester High School, school officials said.

Principal Joseph Sullivan told Time magazine in a story published Wednesday that the girls confessed to making the pact after the school began investigating a rise in pregnancies that has left 17 girls at the school carrying a child. Normally, there are about four pregnancies a year at the school.

Sullivan told Time that nearly half of the expecting students, none over 16, were involved. Sullivan said students were coming to the school clinic multiple times to get pregnancy tests, and "seemed more upset when they weren't pregnant than when they were."

Some of the girls reacted to the news they were pregnant with high fives and plans for baby showers, Sullivan said. One of the fathers "is a 24-year-old homeless guy," Sullivan told the magazine.

Superintendent Christopher Farmer confirmed the deal to WBZ-TV, saying the girls had "an agreement to get pregnant."

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

Christen Callahan, a former Gloucester High School student who had a child when she was 15, said on NBC's "Today" show that some of the girls would ask her about her own pregnancy.

"They would say stuff like, oh, I think my parents would be fine with it and they would help me, stuff like that," Callahan said.

But she said she had no firsthand knowledge of a pact between the girls to get pregnant.

"They were just kind of like curious about it, they never actually came out and said it," Callahan said.

The first reports of the students' apparent plan to get pregnant were in the Gloucester Daily Times in March, when Sullivan said students were reporting that the girls were getting pregnant on purpose.

The rash of pregnancies has shaken the seaside city about 30 miles north of Boston. Last month, two officials at the high school health center resigned to protest the resistance from the local hospital to the confidential distribution of contraceptives. The hospital administers the state money that funds the clinic.

[LosingMyMindInGA]

a) i think these girls are extremely misinformed on what they are getting into
b) if my daughter was involved I gaurantee you that would be that LAST time she had sex becuase i'd sew it shut
c) ANY of these "fathers" that turn out to be old enough for statutory rape need to be prosecuted to the FULLEST...no plea bargains or deals.
d) as for the girls? Well I think they should be "sentenced" to not having ANY pain management during birth ....after that the late night feedings, illnesses and everything else will be a constant reminder of how stupid they were.

As many things as schools are allowed to force on children....things that are anti christian, or are teaching homosexuality....I would FAR RATHER a school or clinic be allowed to administer my daughter BIRTH CONTROL when she asks for it WITHOUT my permission...than to teach her that God is wrong and we come from monkeys or that it's "cool" to be gay.  If my child doesn't feel comfortable asking ME to put her on birth control, I would far rather her have some place else to get it (a safe, clean, regulated place) than for her to go without if she chooses to have sex.  

[mum_of_2]

babies having babies    please no      

[JoyRenee]

I agree with what MrsGordon said wholeheartedly! They definitely want attention and love but it also seems strange that SO MANY girls made a pact to do this. And they want to plan baby showers (with whose money, I can only guess). This just makes me want to be even more tenacious (yet not over-protective and crazy) about keeping communication open with my girls, and any sons if I have them.

[dnikki0928]

Okay, So I know that accidents happen, but making a pact...? WTF??? When has it become sooo acceptable in our society that it's "okay" for teens to have babies? Freaking Seriously!!
Whatever happened to good ole chastitiy (sp?) belts and parents acting like parents instead of the friend??? OHHHH SOOOO MAD about this! It's SICK? Who are all the fathers? Did they all just go to random homless shelters?

[FEOT]

Wow this is jsut crazy!!! I was pregnant at 17, i was happy because  baby daddy was by my side but i sure wanst HiFiving anyone either. I lost the baby and i think though i was sad it was a sign that it just wasnt meant to be. Baby daddy and i broke up (still seeing each other) when he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. He was shot & killed. I would have been sitting here with an 11 year old and no dad. After that i decided that i would be married and have a stable relationship. Here i am 28 years old pregnant, married with my hubby that i been with for 9 years.
Its crazy to think they girls what to have kids. Come on now when your other girl friends are doing college things, going to get some ice cream, go to a movie and they cant because they have a child. Unless they toss them over to grandma or who ever. What has this world come to.  Oh and choose a homeless guy as your baby daddy now thats just plain disgusting. What is she going to tell the kid. I was out sleeping around and finally the one that hit the spot was a homeless guy. Ok i just dont want to think about it anymore. Were the he hell are these girls parents...

[Riot_Queen]

I heard about this on the news!
How can young girls be so stupid!?
I'll tell you one thing... they're in for a RIDE pretty soon.
Then maybe they'll realize that their lil "Fun" wasn't such a "Good Idea" afterall.

[JMcGee]

I was a teen mother, but I was NOT high-fiving when I found out. I just chose to keep my daughter....she is now 5 and the best thing that has EVER happened to me. However, to be making a pact and HIGH-FIVING each-other....it kinda makes me sick to my stomach. It sounds to me like they were just out screwing any guy they could find.....come on, a homeless guy.....ARE YOU SERIOUS??????????????????? I bet you more than half of those girls have atleast one disease...if not more. I think its a shame. Their poor babies are going to have a HORRIBLE life. I graduated high school, went on to college and I am a full time wife, mother and worker. I provide and always have provided for my daughter....since the day I found out I was pregnant. So, it is not ALL teens with babies, just the ones that are screwing every guy possible to get pregnant, and the ones that think its kool to have a baby as a teenager. I could go on and on about this, but I will stop here.

[martikadragoon]

I saw this on yahoo.com and my first thought was WTF?!?! are kids crazy these days?

I know in the piece it says they're looking into who the "fathers" are. and that several men are thought to be in they're 20's.  

[leighanne143]

what do the glouchester parents have to say about this?  especilaly the parents of those girls.  go figure i live 25 minutes away from that city too.

[Mumita]

the also horribly crazy thing that NO-ONE has mentioned is that these girls are getting pregnant by whom?!?! The only one people are talking about is that 24yo homeless guy.  Wouldn't these girls want to at least choose a good father for their babies, AND are these guys over 18?!?! AND do they know their sexual history, they could not just get pregnant but get a horrible STD like, HIV, Herpes, Hepatitis, Clamydia, Gonorrea, syphillis, warts, who knows?!?!
Seems that they are paying more attention to the girls, but where are the sperm donors?  They are just as responsible for this.

[evthing4reason]

This is just so sad

[itcouldhappen]

I watched that on the news lastnight! Girls are CRAZY!!!!

[durhamjk1]

Yes it is and what is even more frightening is when the teenage mother's parents aren't very good parents to begin with.  I have worked with teenage mothers who don't have any guidance at all from parents!

[Mumita]

I just think that its insane how kids think that having a baby is cool and wonderful and they just don't realize the responsibility that it involves.  I counseled many teenage girls for child care scholarships and they just treated the babies as if they were just dolls and puppies they didn't understand the responsibility of it and then the teen mom's parents were usually the ones to end up being responsible for this child.  
its frightening.

[durhamjk1]

I agree with MrsGordon - as I stated before I am a highschool teacher and I mainly work with impoverished kids b/c of our area.  That is exactly what it is.  Most kids want a baby to have someone to love them unconditionally b/c they have never gotten that love from parent so they want to be a parent to have someone to love them.  I tell myself that if I can make a difference in just one kid's life then my career as a teacher has been worthwhile.  

[MrsGordon524]

I happen to run 2 homeless shelters for families and I see this everyday. These children (because that's what they are) lack the love, patience, and nuturing that we all need and deserve. Babies having babies simply because they just want someone to love them uncondionally and they need someone in their lives that will never desert them. I spend countless hours counseling young women about this subject. Itry to reunite them with their families. Sometimes it doesn't work because the majority of them don't have families that are worth going back to. So then it's my job to keep the family that has been created together. I try to arrange child care so the mothers can go back to school and get jobs. Just by showing these young ladies a little love I feel that I have made a difference and I also get my clients to make speeches at various youth centers to inform those behind that don't have kids yet that there is another way. If each of us can influence one person and that person touches someone else, we CAN make a difference.

[Mommy3Girls]

BABIES HAVING BABIES IS NOT A GOOD IDEA. GRANTED THERE ARE CIRCUMSTANCES SOMETIMES THAT ARE UNAVOIDABLE, OR THINGS THAT HAPPEN, BUT FOR A TEEN GIRL TO PLAN TO BE PREGNANT JUST TO DO SO...I WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND WHY A GIRL THAT YOUNG WOULD WANT TO RUSH INTO SOMETHING LIKE HAVING A BABY!
Please, if you are a teenager (under 18) and you are reading this, and planning on getting pregnant, even though having a baby is a blessing, remember you have a lot of time to do things for yourself and make sure you are ready emotionally, physically and financially for a baby. Its not quite what you think it is. I am not by any means saying you CANT handle a child, but you have so much more of your life ahead of you and growing and maturing and figuring out things for yourself, before you should ever consider bringing a child into this world. Please think carefully before you make that decision. And....please don't allow a homeless man be the daddy of your child. Make sure you are in a stable happy relationship with a good man that can help take care of you and the baby. Please... just think about it!

[JoyRenee]

This is sad and disturbing. In middle AND highschool we were required to have those mechanical babies. In highschool I also wore an empathy belly under my clothes for a day and people were incredibly mean to me (I was new to the school so they had no idea who I was and that it was for a class).

These girls have NO IDEA what they're in for and they'll find out soon enough, at the cost of their children.

[fungirl1011]

It is so sad to see this kind of article, especially since my sons are this age (YIKES).  In our junior high, there is a class that the kids can take, and during this class, they have to take a mechanical baby home for a weekend.  It registers everytime it cries, is held, fed, changed, that kind of thing.  It wakes up at all hours of the day and night and they HAVE to pay a babysitter if they leave it with one.  I have known a few girls who have done this and it definatley set in reality to them.  In my personal opinion, ALL 8th graders should have to do this for the weekend.  It would maybe cut down on some teen pregancies.  Just thought I would share.  My 8th grade son is signed up for this class, so it will be interresting to see what happens.

[mami1323]

This is so frightening.  You know who will wind up raising these babies...the parents of these girls.  I feel bad for these parents who are basically now forced into taking care of another baby.  

I wish it were legal and parents were allowed to take their underage daughter to the doctor and force them to get depo shots every 3 months.  This way there are no "accidents".

[Crysi]

Hahaha, some one else was reading Perez Hilton!

I saw this last night  and what got me was that one of then fathers is a 24 year old homeless man. This is a little on the messed up side...

[durhamjk1]

I am a high school teacher and we had a similar situation this year at a neighboring school.  The school is extremely small (graduates maybe 45 a year).  Senior girls made pact to get pregnant before graduation and 8 of them were (which was close to half of them).  So sad - we live in a small remote area and I think these girls just wanted to do it b/c it is all they know.  Women become wives and have babies. No one mentions college to them or anything about getting a job.  I make sure my students KNOW they have choices - they may be expected to get married and start popping out kids (I don't agree with this it is just the demographic of our area), but they don't have to.  They can go to college, go to technical school and get trained and earn their own money.

[LauraB78]

Yikes..

I am 30, pregnant, and still freaking out on how I am going to do it.. Kids shouldn't have kids.. Period...

[gokuangel]

Wow that is just crazy!! I knew this country is going to the crapper but that really proves it!! I hear stories all the time about my lil cousin she is 16 and if she gets preggers im just gonna lose it literally i really cringe at that thought!! she was like my baby and if she has one b4 me it would be super hard!