Lifetime Original Movie, the Pregnancy Pact to Premiere January 23
A Massachusetts high school event, in which an alleged pregnancy pact that was made by a group of teenage girls, will be used as the basis for a Lifetime Original Movie. The Pregnancy Pact, premiering on Saturday, January 23, 2010 at 9 pm (ET/PT), explores the costs of rising teen pregnancies in America. Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winner Camryn Manheim (Ghost Whisperer, The Practice), Nancy Travis (The Bill Engvall Show, Becker) and Golden Globe-nominee Thora Birch (Ghost World, American Beauty) star.
The story broke last year when 17 girls at Gloucester High School were discovered to be pregnant after an unusual number were going to see the school clinic for pregnancy tests. School officials became suspicious when they observed many of girls more upset upon finding out that they weren't pregnant than when they were. Questions were asked and it was then that the girls confessed to having made a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together. Upon further investigation, it was found that many of the fathers weren't attending high school and one of the fathers was a 24-year old homeless man. None of the girls were older than 16 years of age.
Gloucester has depended on a strong fishing industry. However, many of the jobs have disappeared overseas over the last ten years, resulting in hard times for the small community. Some believe this economic depression has led the city's youth trying to find ways to fill the emptiness. Others believe it is movies like Juno and Knocked Up glamorize unwed mothers.
As for what to do in the drastic rise in teen pregnancies, school officials are wrestling with a plan to provide birth control services in the high school. They already have a program that allows teen mothers to stay in school by providing free day care on school grounds. There are conflicting opinions on this issue, as some feel that teaching anything but abstinence is encouraging the behavior. Others blame federal programs for only teaching abstinence instead of a variety of safe sex and birth control options. Many states refuse to accept federal money to avoid being restricted to teaching abstinence-only education.
The story broke last year when 17 girls at Gloucester High School were discovered to be pregnant after an unusual number were going to see the school clinic for pregnancy tests. School officials became suspicious when they observed many of girls more upset upon finding out that they weren't pregnant than when they were. Questions were asked and it was then that the girls confessed to having made a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together. Upon further investigation, it was found that many of the fathers weren't attending high school and one of the fathers was a 24-year old homeless man. None of the girls were older than 16 years of age.
Gloucester has depended on a strong fishing industry. However, many of the jobs have disappeared overseas over the last ten years, resulting in hard times for the small community. Some believe this economic depression has led the city's youth trying to find ways to fill the emptiness. Others believe it is movies like Juno and Knocked Up glamorize unwed mothers.
As for what to do in the drastic rise in teen pregnancies, school officials are wrestling with a plan to provide birth control services in the high school. They already have a program that allows teen mothers to stay in school by providing free day care on school grounds. There are conflicting opinions on this issue, as some feel that teaching anything but abstinence is encouraging the behavior. Others blame federal programs for only teaching abstinence instead of a variety of safe sex and birth control options. Many states refuse to accept federal money to avoid being restricted to teaching abstinence-only education.
Comments
melissa
(Guest)
(Guest)
01/30/2010
This movie was well done. I do think the school and parents are partly to blame. In a way by only providing daycare and not a preventatives it's sending a message that IF they get pregnant there aren't any worries. If I had a teenage daughter I would certainly talk to her more about protecting herself than abstinence. I would show her videos of real life births and her first job would be a baby sitting job. This would all be for an attempt in making her NOT want to get pregnant. In reality though, teenagers will do what they want, whether we like it or not.
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