I read an article yesterday about teenage girls in Denver asking for four weeks of maternity leave from school. Personally I don’t think we should punish these girls with unexcused absences. Being a young mom myself, I know how difficult it is and how scared these girls are. And spending six hours in a classroom just three days after giving birth is nearly impossible. Your body aches. Your boobs hurt. And your exhausted.

These girls already made a decision that will affect the rest of their lives. We need to put that aside now that it’s already done and make sure they get back on track so they can provide for their child. We need to make sure they stay in school. If that means maternity leave or a daycare in school then I think the school district should strongly consider it.

And Denver needs to come up with a plan to curb the teenage pregnancies. More sex education. More safe places for teenagers to hang out. Or making condoms available.

But it’s not the article that got my panties all in a wad. It was a comment. Steve said, “If the girls need 4 weeks or 4 months off fine as long as they can keep up with their studies from home. But hey, school budgets are already strained. Ain’t my fault these girls don’t protect themselves, let their parents take an extra job to pay for daycare. And yes, it’s the girl’s fault. She is the one who has the risk of pregnancy so the ultimate responsibility is her’s. In a perfect world the guys would do the right thing but we know that doesn’t happen in most cases.”

Steve is a moron. And I’m not just talking about his grammar, but about his comment.

So what little Stevie is saying here is the girl is at fault for the teenage pregnancy because she is the one who can get pregnant. So if she doesn’t get on the pill or make her man wear a condom then it’s her own damn fault she got pregnant. The sperm donor has no fault because he has no ovaries or a cervix.

Seriously, little Stevie? I hope your dick gets infected with some STD that itches really bad. That would then be your fault for not wearing a condom. Not the fault of the girl who knew she was infected, but didn’t tell you.

Ok, that wasn’t very lady like of me. But Steve asked for it.

I will agree with one thing Steve said. If the boy who got her pregnant doesn’t stand up and be a man then “the ultimate responsibility is hers.” It’s her responsibility to take his butt to court and make sure she has a court order forcing his employer to garnish his wages for child support for the next 18 years.

But as to blame, or fault as Steve calls it, that belongs to both the boy and the girl. It takes both sperm and an egg to get pregnant. Even teenage boys know sex may lead to a baby. Not being able to carry a baby for nine months doesn’t make them any less at fault or any less responsible. The courts can’t force somebody to be a parent, but they can force them to take responsibility monetarily.

The problem is teenager’s brains aren’t done developing yet and they don’t fully understand the consequences of their actions. Sure they know sex may lead to pregnancy, but they think “it won’t happen to me.” They fall in to the peer pressure of “everybody’s doing it.” And teenage boys can be very persuasive. A girl may not want to have sex, but is afraid of losing her boyfriend if she doesn’t [even if he never made such a claim]. They are both at fault. They both made the decision to have sex. They are both responsible for the consequences.

I understand what Steve is trying to say. He’s trying to say that if the boy turns out to be a dead beat dad then the girl will be left with the responsibility of raising the child on her own [should she decide to keep it]. But the way Steve worded his comment was so derogatory. It was so na-nana-boo-boo. You’re so stupid for trusting a boy. Pointing fingers at a child and basically saying “it’s all your fault slut” is not the way to deal with teenage pregnancy.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 10th, 2008 at 7:10 pm and is filed under In my humble opinion. Comments are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.