Are School Officials to Blame for the Alleged Pregnancy Pact in Gloucester, Massachusetts?

Pregnancy pact or not, the undeniable fact is that 17 teen girls in one high school are pregnant. Whether or not there was a pact between the young mothers does not seem to me to be the major issue. How and why this situation was allowed to come about, must be investigated, so that it will not be repeated. Single parent families are detrimental to everyone, the mother, the absentee father, both sets of families, and most of all, the children.

The school the girls attended cannot be held responsible for the largest parcel of blame, but it may possibly accept a small portion. Also at fault are the girls themselves, their parents, the fathers of the children, and the society and culture which made this seem to be an attractive option to the young students.

The girls are old enough to know right from wrong. Even if they have been deprived of spiritual and ethical training, common sense should have made them realize that they were seriously penalizing their child by condemning it to life in a single-parent family. A local psychologist speculated that the young mothers were searching for unconditional love. Where were their parents, grandparents, and other family members who should have been supplying an adequate amount of love and security?

Gloucester is a fishing town with a population of about 30,000. Recently, the fishing trade has been in sharp decline. Men who have fished the Atlantic coastal waters for generations can no longer earn a living. Families are under great stress and some of them have broken up. The children of these families no longer have a definite life plan. They are at sea with an uncertain future, probably at a time when their families are too unsettled to provide proper support.