Bristol Palin Says Abstinence Not Realistic

A year ago, the nation watched as Republican nominee John McCain picked the little-known female Alaska governor, Sarah Palin, as his running mate for the presidential election. Many questioned her experience while others rejoiced at the nation’s progress and the thought of the first potential female vice-president. A few days after the nomination, however, a new announcement came that shocked and nearly divided the nation. Palin’s teenage daughter, Bristol, was pregnant and due in December.

In a recent interview with FOX and Greta Van Susteren, Bristol shares her thoughts on her new son, teenage pregnancy and abstinence. At age 17, the unmarried Bristol found out that she and her boyfriend Levi were going to have a baby. Now, it is stressful enough to have to tell your parents that you are going to be a teenage mother, but Bristol had to deal with one extra stress factor; her mother had just been named as the Republican running mate of McCain in one of the most historic presidential elections this country has seen. Naturally, in a country that is divided on issues of abortion, sex education in schools and reproductive health issues, there was a backlash when Governor Palin alerted the media that she was going to be a grandmother soon. Many accused Governor Palin of forcing her daughter to have the baby bringing to the forefront the debate of pro-life versus pro-choice. Bristol puts these rumors to bay in the interview, “They thought that, like, my mom was going to make me have the baby, and it was my choice to have the baby…doesn’t matter what my mom’s views are on it. It was my decision, and I wish people would realize that, too.”

When asked about her thoughts on teen pregnancy, Bristol states, “It’s not something to strive for, I guess. It’s just — I don’t know. I’m not the first person that it’s happened to and I’m not going to be the last. But I don’t know. I’d love for — to be an advocate to prevent teen pregnancy.” Republicans are known to push the abstinence-only curriculum on schools. In this program, students are urged to remain abstinent until marriage; however, critics of this program feel the curriculum is archaic and unrealistic in today’s society. These critics often support the comprehensive sexual education program or abstinence-plus program, as it is often called. In this campaign, abstinence is looked at as something to strive for until marriage; however, for those young adults who choose not to abstain, contraceptive education (the use of condoms and other birth control options) and information on unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases is also offered. When asked about her views on abstinence, Bristol admits, “I think abstinence is, like — like, the — I don’t know how to put it — like, the main — everyone should be abstinent or whatever, but it’s not realistic at all. To see stories like this and to see other stories of teen moms and just — it’s something that’s — I don’t know, just — you should just wait 10 years and it’d just be so much easier.”