Teenage pregnancy has evolved from a shameful situation to a symbol of status in many high schools across the U.S.
In June 2008, allegations that a teenage pregnancy pact existed at Gloucester High School in Massachusetts, which resulted in 17 pregnancies in a school of 1200 students; rocked their town of a large catholic population.
While as of September 2010, there were “75” pregnant teenage girls walking the halls of Passaic High School in Passaic, NJ. far more obvious that, what was once a shunned condition now seems glamorous.
Shows like “Teen moms” and others, that favor a hip Hollywood version of life as a ‘baby mama’ bombard teens with the message that being loved is all that really matters. And for those teens unsure about themselves and their relationships, the desire for some form of unconditional love leads many to think motherhood will satisfy that longing.
However, in Memphis, Tennessee, when Frayser High School put their town in a national spotlight with as many as ‘90‘ students pregnant, the mayors of Memphis and Shelby county were ready to get to work to reverse the statistics.
“I want to make one thing clear — the matter of teenage pregnancy is not something that was invented in Frayser or Boxtown, or Midtown, or any particular part of our city,” the mayor said. “Frayser doesn’t have a patent or trademark on this issue. These are not statistics, these are people and tragically [the] most venerable people.”
Memphis City Schools curriculum now offers 9th graders a family life education course, that has a heavy emphasis on abstinence from sex outside of marriage. The school district is going to be rolling out a new “No Baby” program in hopes to help curtail the large number of teen pregnancies.
The new program presented by Girls Inc., a nonprofit organization that teaches women’s empowerment, will incorporate Facebook and text messaging as a part of the “in your face” efforts to teach the girls “how to say no” to sex. ‘No Baby’ will also push abstinence and will not give out any form of contraceptives.
Now that’s an action plan to believe in.
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