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    Sarah Palin's Views on Abstinence Lead to Second Grandchild

    This story comes from the Yahoo! Contributor Network, where individuals publish their unique perspectives on some of the world’s most popular websites.
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    COMMENTARY | Sarah Palin is known for her strong beliefs against sex before marriage. She is staunchly opposed to sex education for teenagers as well the distribution of contraceptives in schools paid for by tax dollars.

    In September 2008, Sarah's 17-year-old daughter Bristol announced that she was five months pregnant while her mother continued to support beliefs that obviously do not work within her own family. That year she also voted to cut funding to a program that helped support teen mothers, according to the Washington Post.

    In the ultimate hypocrisy, Bristol went on to earn more than $260,000 in 2009 as an advocate against teen pregnancy while at the same time admitting that abstinence was not realistic.

    In a not so surprising turn-of-events, the news that Sarah's son Track is expecting a baby with his wife Britta was just released Thursday.

    Pictures of the new bride posted on Facebook show that she is rather obviously expecting, while her marriage took place just two months ago.

    The quick ceremony prompted many to ask whether Britta was pregnant, but supporters of conservative Sarah became extremely upset, continuing to argue that the new couple was not expecting. It certainly seemed like a shot-gun wedding, and today it was finally confirmed that the pregnancy came before the marriage.

    Track apparently did not listen to his mother's or sister's advice, and I wonder how long it will be before the rest of the Palins are multiplying faster than a calculator.

    People said the family has not responded to a request for a comment in regard to the pregnancy.

    Rosie Pope, star of the Bravo show "Pregnant in Heels," said of Britta's posted pictures, "In my opinion it looks like she is more than four months along, as it is not customary to have a baby shower so early in a pregnancy and first-time moms usually take longer to pop," according to the New York Daily News.

    The Palins make an excellent example for the latest research on abstinence education. The National Sexuality Resource Center's Sexuality Research and Social Policy completed a recent study that showed abstinence-only education does not delay or prevent teens from having sex. These same programs that Palin and many other conservatives support have received $1.5 billion in federal funding.

    The editor of the academic journal of SRSP, Brian Devries, stated, "Sex educators know. Teens know. Parents know. And the research shows it. When will our policies and interventions reflect what science, research and best practices demonstrate? We need comprehensive sexuality education that is truly comprehensive."

    With a second premarital pregnancy in the Palin family, how much more proof do our hypocritical politicians and ultra conservative right-wing Christians need?

     

    3,996 comments

    • DUMB BEAR  •  6 mths ago
      JUNE CLINE WHERE ARE YOU
    • Jackson  •  6 mths ago
      I'd have loved to have been a fly on the wall in Palin's house when that pregnancy was announced! These Palins sure are breeders, aren't they?
    • Richard  •  6 mths ago
      This speaks volumes. Enough said
    • Red Soxs  •  6 mths ago
      How's that ABSTINENCE working out Sarah?
    • A Yahoo! User  •  6 mths ago
      Gotta love those Christian family values!!!!
    • Leucothea  •  6 mths ago
      Seems the only one abstaining from sex in the Palin household is Sarah and the single digit children. Wasn't hubbie doin the masseuse while Sarah was on the road promoting her book.
    • Ann  •  6 mths ago
      I think if you check important dates in Sarah's life, it appears her first born was a "premie".
      While you're checking, take a look at Ronnie & Nancy's dates as well. ;)
    • BC  •  7 mths ago
      I am a single father, my wife passed away when my second boy was only 7 and the older one 10. I raised them on my own. We always talk very openly about everything. There is no secrets, and sex is part of the conversations. I knew that regardless of what I would do or say, they would do exactly what they wanted, so I made sure they were informed. There is no full-proof prevention to teenage pregnancy, but sex education is the best approach, in my opinion. At 15, my older son was already aware of the consequences he would have to face if he got a girl pregnant. I talked to him about the difficulties of raising a child when you are still going to school, and all of the things he would miss by being a father at a young age. We talked a lot about condoms, the pill and all of the ways to prevent pregnancy, He knew that the choices were his to make. Both have now finished university and are working. They have girlfriends, and they are not in a hurry to start families. I am convinced that if I had avoided sex education in favor of simply promoting abstinence, the situation could have been dramatically different since my older boy admitted to me that he was actively sexual at 15.
    • Methree  •  7 mths ago
      As young men I stressed to my sons that if they got someone pregnant I would not abandon them, throw them out of force them into a marriage they were not ready for, however I told them that I would expect them to take their share of responsiblity and support the girl and her child. Teenagers have sex (SHOCK SHOCK) and they should have the knowledge to protect themselves from STDs and pregnancy. To deny them the facts leads to bad marriages, unwed mothers and a host of other problems the public has to pay for. An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure.
    • Tha Infamous  •  7 mths ago
      The point here is not that abstinence doesnt work, its that abstinence-ONLY education doesnt work. Educate the kids and abstinence might happen more often.
    • HUGH JORGAN  •  7 mths ago
      Just tell your children about life, give them a good moral compass for making the right choices, tell them about the consequences of making the wrong choices, and love them. The smart ones will do the right thing. The not-so-smart ones, well,,,,,,,, you know how that ends.
    • Robert  •  7 mths ago
      How is paying $260,000 to a girl who got pregnant out of wedlock supposed to teach young girls not to get pregnant?
    • NewMexicoGent  •  7 mths ago
      1.5 billion for abstinence only education? And yet they want to take away my social security? These people are NUTS!
    • mark  •  7 mths ago
      During my teenage years I drank alcohol,took drugs,had premarital sex.My parents were againt all three.What hypocrites!After those days passed some of those values my parents taught me began to make sense.It's like the Mark Twain saying,my parents got smarter as I got older.
    • Karen1946  •  7 mths ago
      We all want our children to be happy and have a childhood. Not be a child mother themselves. But it is a fact that whatever you teach them when they reach 16 or so they make their own paths, right or wrong.
    • Brooke  •  7 mths ago
      Some two decades ago my high school taught us about every form of birth control out there. Guess how many underage Moms there were in my graduating class. Zero. I know, not everyone was practicing abstinence.
    • RAVEN  •  7 mths ago
      TWEEK,TWIT,TWEEZER....I'm just throwing out some names for the new one.
    • HolyShinto  •  7 mths ago
      Kids will do the do anyway. So, it's important that they get all the info they'll ever need to protect themselves from unplanned pregos, VD and sexual violence.
    • Ron  •  7 mths ago
      You miss the point. Abstinence is just a part of sex education, not the be all end all.
    • StarGazer  •  7 mths ago
      It was a formal wedding. The shotgun was white.
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