Pregnant Teens

[AngryOldGuy]

I always do because I don't make stoopid life choices

 

[soot]

You don't have kids, so this is a rhetorical answer? I think I just read that you're 43. Essentially, I'm asking people to pretend that they are the thirty year-old parent of a fourteen year-old pregnant offspring.

Actually, you asked people to use their imagination.

Mine happens to be perversely vivid.

Anyhow, to answer seriously...

I would first encourage my child to carry the baby to term and keep it. I would be happy to, and am financially comfortable enough to, support both my child and her child.

Next, I don't really know how adoption works, but if there was an option for my child to "sign over" the baby to me I'd want first wacks at adopting the kid.

Failing that I'd encourage her to put the baby up for adoption publicly.

Abortion would be the last resort, and while, if it came to it, I'd support my kid both financially and with whatever assistance I could provide I would make it clear that I was very much opposed to abortion under all but the most narrow set of circumstances and that I was very disapointed in her decision to abort. In so far as that would leave me on pretty weak footing to be "psycologically and emotionally" supportive I'd still do my best.

Oh, and yes, I'm 43. I have two little boys.

 

[Sykes]

Actually, you asked people to use their imagination.

Mine happens to be perversely vivid.

Anyhow, to answer seriously...

I would first encourage my child to carry the baby to term and keep it. I would be happy to, and am financially comfortable enough to, support both my child and her child.

Next, I don't really know how adoption works, but if there was an option for my child to "sign over" the baby to me I'd want first wacks at adopting the kid.

Failing that I'd encourage her to put the baby up for adoption publicly.

Abortion would be the last resort, and while, if it came to it, I'd support my kid both financially and with whatever assistance I could provide I would make it clear that I was very much opposed to abortion under all but the most narrow set of circumstances and that I was very disapointed in her decision to abort. In so far as that would leave me on pretty weak footing to be "psycologically and emotionally" supportive I'd still do my best.

Funny, I was thinking 'other side, same coin' earlier.

I'd make sure she knew giving birth could kill her. I'd let her know that giving birth is much more dangerous than having an abortion, and the specifics of what could go wrong.

 

[DDD]

Lost me at the title. Teens get pregnant here only too rarely.

 

[AngryOldGuy]

aw gee if billy was more like soot there wouldn't be a problem in the first place

 

[soot]

Funny, I was thinking 'other side, same coin' earlier.

I'd make sure she knew giving birth could kill her. I'd let her know that giving birth is much more dangerous than having an abortion, and the specifics of what could go wrong.

I guess if you're looking for any excuse to justify abortion you could certainly make a "child birth is dangerous" argument.

But anyone with half a grain of common sense would look around at the human race and it's several-hundred-thousand-year history they'd immediately note just how weak, transparent, and self-serving such an argument is.

 

[AliHajiSheik]

What would you do if it was YOUR teen.

That's the problem, I don't know who I am. Am I Billy, Suzy, Andrea or Tom?

 

[Sykes]

I guess if you're looking for any excuse to justify abortion you could certainly make a "child birth is dangerous" argument.

But anyone with half a grain of common sense would look around at the human race and it's several-hundred-thousand-year history they'd immediately note just how weak, transparent, and self-serving such an argument is.

No. It's not. We only have three kids because my wife almost bled out during that last birth.

 

[Sykes]

That's the problem, I don't know who I am. Am I Billy, Suzy, Andrea or Tom?

Bring your own thoughts to the table.

 

[AliHajiSheik]

Bring your own thoughts to the table.

If you don't want me to take the persons perspective, then why did you introduce them? I think I would have different opinions depending on which position I was in. Step-parents have to tread lighter than parents just as who has physical custody.

 

[Sykes]

If you don't want me to take the persons perspective, then why did you introduce them? I think I would have different opinions depending on which position I was in. Step-parents have to tread lighter than parents just as who has physical custody.

Mostly to differentiate between what the actual discussion thread was, involving a bunch of short-hand. BM/BD, SM/SD, CP, NCP, etc.

You want me to choose for you? Fine. You're Billy, Olivia's dad.

 

[Sykes]

I always do because I don't make stoopid life choices

No wonder you're angry. A life lived risk-free is no kind of life indeed. How did you ever learn anything, if you weren't allowed to make your own mistakes?

 

[Cephus]

This is a whole mess of bad parenting, zero personal responsibility and stupid people. Shoot 'em all and start over.

 

[Sykes]

This is a whole mess of bad parenting, zero personal responsibility and stupid people. Shoot 'em all and start over.

Can't practice a paradigm shift?

 

[soot]

No. It's not. We only have three kids because my wife almost bled out during that last birth.

Okay. Fair enough.

But...

(There's always a "but", right?)

Your wife almost bled out.

She didn't bleed out.

Other than your wife's close call, how many women do you know personally who died during childbirth?

I neither know personally, nor even know of, any women who have died during childbirth.

I've known of a few close calls (as with your wife) but the miracles of modern medicine never cease to amaze.

While I know that women do die during childbirth (according to the statistics I've been able to find 13 mothers die per 100,000 live childbirths in the U.S.) it is exceedingly rare.

There are a great many things that result in a higher incidence of fatalities.

As one example, there are 15 fatalities in the U.S. every year per 100,000 automobiles on the road.

Your daughter is more likely to die in a car accident than giving birth.

Have you ever sat your kids down, explained the threat of death from automobile accident, and seriously encouraged them to never get into an automobile?

Have you ever even considered doing so?

Probably not.

What about all of the million and one other things that can lead to death?

Do you take them as seriously as you take childbirth?

Again, probably not.

If you did I suspect you and your family would be living in a plastic bubble.

You certainly wouldn't be posting to the Internet from a computer (because of the risk that you'd be the 1 person in 100,000 to die from electrocution).

Now maybe in your case (personally) the nightmare of almost losing your wife during childbirth corlored your perception to the ppint where you'd actually make irrational decisions and hold irrational opinions in relation to childbirth.

That's not a knock on you, by the way. It's natural that dealing with stress can result in a person having irrational views of the stressor.

But looking at this issue from a more rational, uneffected perspective it's clear that fear of death during childbirth is in no way a rational reason for having an abortion.

 

[Cephus]

Can't practice a paradigm shift?

At the point you're talking about, it's very difficult to change the course of the ship before it hits the iceberg again. When you have generations of kids being raised to respect the bad choices their parents made, especially when they reside in communities there those bad choices are the norm, resisting the tide is hard to do and almost invariably, those bad choices will be made again and the cycle will begin anew.

It's a whole mess, created by people who had no business breeding in the first place.

 

[AngryOldGuy]

It's a whole mess, created by people who had no business breeding in the first place.

Give this man a cookie, thar you go the truth behind the whole danged thing inna nutshell kudos to you Cephus
I say, sterilize the lot of them for the good of society

 

[AngryOldGuy]

No wonder you're angry. A life lived risk-free is no kind of life indeed. How did you ever learn anything, if you weren't allowed to make your own mistakes?

I just want to savor the wisdumb in that quote, bath in it and let it become my mantra for life.
No wait I'm to old to start acting like an idiot never mind.
Tell you what, nothing bad ever happened to my in my whole life. Tell me that was an accident.

 

[AngryOldGuy]

what about all of the million and one other things that can lead to death?

yeah that's the thing about life
no one gets out alive

 

[Sykes]

I just want to savor the wisdumb in that quote, bath in it and let it become my mantra for life.
No wait I'm to old to start acting like an idiot never mind.
Tell you what, nothing bad ever happened to my in my whole life. Tell me that was an accident.

I see no reason to tell you anything, what with your inability to hear n'all.

 

[AngryOldGuy]

The life of a Liberal must be so unhappy
why must it be so?
gee I dunno

Personally I'm gonna go with soot the Conservative on this one
if I had a teenage daughter that got knocked up
(which whether you believe it or not would never happen cuz my kid wouldn't get preggers unless she wanted too cuz she'd know where babee's come from)
I'd be over the moon and want her to be happy, I'd take him or her and raise him or her and hug em n kiss em and read em bedtime stories and save for it's college too yeah mang that's what (grand)parents do right?

 

[Sykes]

The life of a Liberal must be so unhappy
why must it be so?
gee I dunno

Personally I'm gonna go with soot the Conservative on this one
if I had a teenage daughter that got knocked up
(which whether you believe it or not would never happen cuz my kid wouldn't get preggers unless she wanted too cuz she'd know where babee's come from)
I'd be over the moon and want her to be happy, I'd take him or her and raise him or her and hug em n kiss em and read em bedtime stories and save for it's college too yeah mang that's what (grand)parents do right?

Why the sudden ad hom attack? Gee, apropos of nothing, libs must be unhappy. No proof, no cause to think so - yet there you are.

 

[Helix]

it's my opinion that we'd be better off if birth control was opt out instead of opt in. why anyone would want to have a kid before they want to have a kid is beyond me. i understand the whole social stigma of sex thing, but if everyone went on birth control automatically, we'd have a lot less unwanted pregnancies.

 

[CanadaJohn]

I saw this very interesting discussion on a step-parenting thread, and thought it would do well here. The scenario that was laid out had to do with custodial parent vs non-custodial parent, but would apply to any parents of a young teen.

Please don't join in with "MY child would never do such a thing." **** happens.

Billy and Suzy got pregnant when they were fifteen, and had a baby at sixteen. They divorced at twenty, and have joint custody.

Fast forward. Billy married Andrea, and Suzy married Tom. Their daughter is Olivia, and she is now fourteen.

Olivia tells Billy she is sexually active. Billy tells Olivia she needs to tell Suzy, and she should start birth control immediately. He also calls Suzy and tells her the same. Suzy and Tom are Christian parents, and refuse. Olivia gets pregnant.

Suzy and Tom want Olivia to give birth and give the baby up for adoption. Billy hopes she'll abort, but tells her he will discuss all her options with her, and support her however he can. Suzy tells Billy that if Olivia keeps the baby, he will not only have to pay child support for her, but also for the upcoming baby.

If this were your teenager, what would you do? Would you let her make her own decision? Try to control her decision? Tell her you didn't sign up for another baby, and if she refuses to either adopt out or abort, you're removing her from your home?

Use your imagination.

I can see why Suzy would be ticked - she's potentially going to be a grandmother at the grand old age of 30.

Says to me that welfare kids have too much time on their hands and need to concentrate on school more. Teens having babies and then having their baby teens have babies is a learned culture, similar to the welfare culture.

As for using my imagination - I can't imagine being married and having a child at 16 - who does that??? And I can't imagine imparting my incredible irresponsibility on my own daughter.

Irrespective, I would always support my child's choice and encourage her to have the child and commit to my help for the entire childhood of her child - my irresponsibility shouldn't hurt an innocent new life.

 

[Medusa]

I saw this very interesting discussion on a step-parenting thread, and thought it would do well here. The scenario that was laid out had to do with custodial parent vs non-custodial parent, but would apply to any parents of a young teen.

Please don't join in with "MY child would never do such a thing." **** happens.

Billy and Suzy got pregnant when they were fifteen, and had a baby at sixteen. They divorced at twenty, and have joint custody.

Fast forward. Billy married Andrea, and Suzy married Tom. Their daughter is Olivia, and she is now fourteen.

Olivia tells Billy she is sexually active. Billy tells Olivia she needs to tell Suzy, and she should start birth control immediately. He also calls Suzy and tells her the same. Suzy and Tom are Christian parents, and refuse. Olivia gets pregnant.

Suzy and Tom want Olivia to give birth and give the baby up for adoption. Billy hopes she'll abort, but tells her he will discuss all her options with her, and support her however he can. Suzy tells Billy that if Olivia keeps the baby, he will not only have to pay child support for her, but also for the upcoming baby.

If this were your teenager, what would you do? Would you let her make her own decision? Try to control her decision? Tell her you didn't sign up for another baby, and if she refuses to either adopt out or abort, you're removing her from your home?

Use your imagination.

l dont know where in bible teh birth control is banned

letting a child get pregnant and forcing her to give birth

l dont understand their moronic conservativism

l need to know why