10 pages of comments but we are still only talking about girls here. No one talking about boys who became fathers as teenagers? Maybe once we see this as an issue that involves both sexes we can.prevent more teen pregnancy. Right now, it still seems that the shame, like the child, is solely a female burden....

Rolling Thunder?

Anonymous wrote:One of my close high school friends had a baby when she was 16. She dropped out of high school, left her baby behind and hitchhiked to Seattle. Last I heard, she got involved with a biker gang and her daughter is being raised by grandma.

She's probably living in a tent in one of the many drug infested encampments the liberals' policies propagate.

Anonymous wrote:My cousin had her 1st at 15, and is now 17 and pregnant with #2.

sounds like she had a good experience.

Anonymous wrote:my parents flat out told me I would get an abortion if I were to become pregnant in HS. No discussion.

It wasn't needed, anyway. I had no intention of derailing my life like that.

My mom told me she'd gladly take me or any of my friends or even random acquaintances and pay for it all. No questions asked. She also begged me when she dropped me off at school that she was too young to become a grandma. (She later begged and pleaded for grandchildren as I neared 30!). I don't think she would have forced an abortion on me, but I doubt she would have supported me. They're bootstraps kinds of parents and they would have required me to get a GED and get a job to support my child.

Anonymous wrote:Let this thread stand in eternity as that moment when THE RESPONDENTS ON A THREAD ON DCUM REPRESENTED THE GENERATIONAL AND DEMOGRAPHICAL SHIFT TOWARD THE BOTTOM SCRAPINGS OF THE FACEBOOK SPECTRUM ON THIS SITE.

"The loudest person in the room is usually the dumbest."

Anonymous wrote:

How does abortion correlate with higher SES if abortions in PP are free and anyone can get them?

They're not, and plenty of people can't.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most teenagers don't have two dimes to rub together. For high-SES families with knocked-up teens, it's likely they'd be marching their daughters to get the pregnancy terminated. The low-SES ones don't care because it's quite normalized for them. Amy Chua is typical of the Asian parent in this country. Read her book! Do you think she would have been okay with either of her daughters becoming wayward and pregnant in their teens? No, because she's not a white permissive "We'll support you in everything" parent. She sets the standards for her kids and more parents should be like her.

How does abortion correlate with higher SES if abortions in PP are free and anyone can get them?

The reality is that in low SES communities teenage pregnancies are not only the norm but they’re considered a point of pride. It’s that sort of regressive thinking that condemns future generations to share the same fate as the past.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do not know why some people are trying to bring financial status into the mix here.

A girl I went to school with who lived in a million dollar house (this was over 20 years ago) with very wealthy parents ended up getting pregnant at 16.
The father of the baby (same age) also lived in a million dollar house with very wealthy parents.

I have not seen or hard from her in over 20 years but I assume her and her now 21 year old child are doing just fine.

Because the vast majority of unplanned pregnancies among teenagers in the upper middle and upper classes are terminated. The girls are marched straight to the abortion clinic first thing. It is devastating to these families to have a teen pregnancy.

Pregnancies do happen, but there is no question that the vast majority of teen pregnancies are among the lower incomes. They get more and more infrequent to eventually nearly non-existent the higher up the incomes you go.

So the higher incomes are better at using protection or birth control because I guarantee you those girls are out there having sex.
I know because I went to school with a lot of them.
Sneaking out of the house with guys, lying to parents about not having boyfriends, having a separate backpack filled with revealing clothing to change into etc... was very common.

Is anyone arguing this? No.

More affluent people do not allow teen pregnancies to continue. The rate or frequency of having sex at certain ages is not at discussion here.

Fixed that for you.

Anonymous wrote:Most teenagers don't have two dimes to rub together. For high-SES families with knocked-up teens, it's likely they'd be marching their daughters to get the pregnancy terminated. The low-SES ones don't care because it's quite normalized for them. Amy Chua is typical of the Asian parent in this country. Read her book! Do you think she would have been okay with either of her daughters becoming wayward and pregnant in their teens? No, because she's not a white permissive "We'll support you in everything" parent. She sets the standards for her kids and more parents should be like her.

How does abortion correlate with higher SES if abortions in PP are free and anyone can get them?

Several girls at my high school became teen mothers. I wouldn't wish such a tough start in life on anyone, but all are now married with additional children (though none are still with the fathers of their first babies), gainfully employed, and leading stable lives. The few people in my graduating class who don't appear to be doing well do not have kids (and we're pushing 40).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I are teen parents.

Our daughter just graduated from college at 22.

It was difficult and there will always be a tiny bit of shame attached, especially when people find out how old we are and how old our daughter is, we get tired of having to explain ourselves over 20 years later, but life is life. Sometimes I lie about my age just to avoid the questions.

It sounds as though you and your husband have done a great job. You have absolutely nothing to feel ashamed about!

Congratulations to your daughter on her graduation from college. Congratulations to you and your husband for sticking together and raising a great kid even though you were kids yourselves when she was born.

I didn't have my own kids until my mid to late 30's. I'll bet I wasn't a whole lot younger than you are now when I had my second and last child. The other day I was at a school event for one of my kids when a lady around my age sat down right behind me. I heard her mention that she was there to see her teenage grandchild.....

Thanks for the encouraging words! We are very proud of her and we think we did a decent job, considering on how we got our start. I will admit that I'm a little relieved that she didn't continue the cycle and make us grandparents in our 30s, but she's way more responsible and smarter than we were.
Most days we don't even think about it, but some days it feels like the world will never let us forget that we were teen parents. It's probably just my own insecurities, but I feel judged and written off whenever we strike up conversations with strangers.

My husband is a physician, which makes things even more complicated when they find out, because you don't see many doctors who are also teen Dads.

my parents flat out told me I would get an abortion if I were to become pregnant in HS. No discussion.

It wasn't needed, anyway. I had no intention of derailing my life like that.

Anonymous wrote:Most teenagers don't have two dimes to rub together. For high-SES families with knocked-up teens, it's likely they'd be marching their daughters to get the pregnancy terminated. The low-SES ones don't care because it's quite normalized for them. Amy Chua is typical of the Asian parent in this country. Read her book! Do you think she would have been okay with either of her daughters becoming wayward and pregnant in their teens? No, because she's not a white permissive "We'll support you in everything" parent. She sets the standards for her kids and more parents should be like her.

The typical Asian parent in the US makes their children practice their musical instruments 3 hours a day while on vacation? I didn't know that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do not know why some people are trying to bring financial status into the mix here.

A girl I went to school with who lived in a million dollar house (this was over 20 years ago) with very wealthy parents ended up getting pregnant at 16.
The father of the baby (same age) also lived in a million dollar house with very wealthy parents.

I have not seen or hard from her in over 20 years but I assume her and her now 21 year old child are doing just fine.

Because the vast majority of unplanned pregnancies among teenagers in the upper middle and upper classes are terminated. The girls are marched straight to the abortion clinic first thing. It is devastating to these families to have a teen pregnancy.

Pregnancies do happen, but there is no question that the vast majority of teen pregnancies are among the lower incomes. They get more and more infrequent to eventually nearly non-existent the higher up the incomes you go.

So the higher incomes are better at using protection or birth control because I guarantee you those girls are out there having sex.
I know because I went to school with a lot of them.
Sneaking out of the house with guys, lying to parents about not having boyfriends, having a separate backpack filled with revealing clothing to change into etc... was very common.

Is anyone arguing this? No.

More affluent people do not have or allow teen pregnancies. The rate or frequency of having sex at certain ages is not at discussion here.