Thanks for the link to the Salon.com article - it puts a much more realistic light on the Palin family hypocrisy that is actually revealed in Greta's interview.

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It's great that people in the media, such as Bristol Palin, use their popularity as a pedestal to educate others. But Bristol and other celebrities/teen idols, have the resources and the long-term family support needed to care for a child that most unwed pregnant teens do not. No doubt Bristol was flooded with baby gifts, and her pregnancy was much celebrated, unlike most pregnant teens, who walk the halls of their high schools feeling ashamed, and try their best to conceal their growing bellies. I do hope teens and their parents interpret Bristol's message to be one of hope, but I can't help but think that many will look at Bristol's life as one that is far from their own reality.

For this reason, I wish adoption was talked about more by politicians and the media as an alternative to abortion. So many loving married couples, who struggle with infertility, would give just about anything to have their dream of becoming a parent come true. Despite Bristol's story, I think their are still many teens who don't feel it's possible, or simply don't want, to "keep" their babies. For these teens (and it's easier said than done), choosing adoption over abortion and placing their child into a loving, financially stable two-parent family is such a gift all the way around. No, it's not as "exciting" or "controversial" to talk about adoption, but in many cases it is the best decision, and one that can spare thousands of lives lost by abortion.

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Can we get past the Palins? It seems to me that people were complaining just a month or so ago that the public should not be butting into the Palins' private lives, specifically their children. Then, Bristol is put on the national stage again by giving this interview on Fox. Either Sarah needs to keep her children's lives truely private, or stop complaining when people want to talk about her children.

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10 years ago, I was 18, unmarried and pregnant with my first child. Unlike Bristol Palin, I was in my first year of college and I came from a family of liberals who decided the best way to get rid of the "problem" was by ambush-- I was tricked by my mother and two of her sisters into going to an abortion clinic (I thought it was a regular doctor's appointment to check on the progress of the pregnancy; I hadn't decided if I was going to keep it or not). Their covert actions only strengthened my resolve to continue the pregnancy and all of the consequences that came with it.

I'm still a liberal, but on this issue, I take offense. Just because a young woman is mourning her first future doesn't mean she can't plan for a new one, baby included. That article on Salon.com was vicious and mean-spirited. I feel for Bristol Palin. I know all too well about the stares and the comments people make, and I just hope she doesn't keep wading her way into deeper public ridicule. And I also hope that Sarah Palin would stop being the helicopter mom (too late now!!) and allow Bristol to grow into her own ideals.

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Michelle,
I absolutely agree with you. I watched Bristol's interview and heard two options: abstinence or teen parenting. Adoption is a third, and in my opinion, the most selfless option.

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There is no one else on this Earth more loved and nutured than I was by my parents, but there are countless others who were loved and nurtured as much.
My parents married young, at 18 and 19. I was born 15 months after they married.
My mother started talking to me about sex when I was 9 because I was asking questions about the dogs "stuck together" in our front yard. We lived in the country.
I didn't become sexually active until I was 17, with the boy who became my husband when I was 20. I went to our county's health department for birth control pills months before having sex. We also used condoms.
Not providing teens, even pre-teens, with the information they need to know about sex, birth-control, STDs, is just asking for trouble. "Just say no" doesn't work to prevent pregnancy,and it doesn't keep youths from using drugs. Open, honest conversation can and does prevent both.

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I'm glad Bristol and her baby are surrounded by supportive, loving people. I wish that for any new mother and baby. Although likeable, I’m not sure the Palins are all that credible on the subject of family values and child-rearing.

On abstinence, my mother (who is an atheist and vehemently opposed to premarital sex, and always has been) openly discussed sex with me growing up. When I was 6 I asked her what a certain act was (I read it on the public bathroom wall) and she calmly gave me a limited textbook answer (later she confessed she almost dropped the groceries when I asked her this.) As I entered high school, she stressed the use of condoms, even though she clearly disapproved. She raised the subject with enough frequency it actually became annoying. I was not interested in sex, I advised her, but would let her know when I was.

The very strong message I received was that my parents disapproved of sex at my age, but under no circumstances should I risk my health or negatively impact my future options with an untimely pregnancy. In my very immature way I understood the obligation I had to make my parents proud and not bring shame to my family by being a teenage mother. No one ever came out and said this, but I knew getting pregnant would have been one of the most shameful things I could do before marriage (Sorry to those who were teenage mothers if I offend, but this is how I was raised.) I also knew to listen to my gut, and not do something when it didn't feel right, despite the pressure around me.

So what happened to me? I actually used my mind, not my body, to decide when I felt I was ready to have sex. To me, it was ludicrous to have sex if you had to sneak around to do it. Were we just playing grown up, a game we had no business playing? I even got dumped by a 17 year old boyfriend (valedictorian, of all people; not very smart if you ask me) for not having sex after a year. This only reinforced my decision that sex was not for me at that stage in my life. In college, I dated, but was very busy with my education (both here and abroad), and did not lose my virginity until 21 (to someone who is not my husband; I also had sex with several other men who are not my husband).

My parents did not preach chastity and religious conviction played absolutely NO ROLE in my decision to wait until later in life to lose my virginity. Strong parental involvement/support and high educational expectations did, however, do the trick. I will always treasure the way my parents openly supported me in making my own wise decisions in life. I plan to do the same with my son.

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Rachel the Author of this article seems related to the Palin family, always favoring them in her posts

For a person like Sarah Palin who is Pro-life not terminating her pregnancy of Down Syndrome child, how can she kill a moose and eat it. I do not consider any person who hunts as compassionate.
Being Human and compassionate should extend to all living beings not just humans, dogs and cats.

I am against abortion too, but bringing in a child with a serious condition into this world and suffering, I would personally prefer to abort it, not for myself as a parent but for the child to undergo suffering after birth.

For Bristol to have her child, she should give the child up for adoption, in a loving home with mature parents.

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This blog might have fit better under your Red Mom/Blue Mom column. I find it so odd that someone as bright as you seems to have this bizarre obsession with all things Sarah Palin. Bristol Palin is a good story, but your obsession with her mother makes me wonder if you'd secretly like to be Sarah's running mate, heaven forbid she runs for President.

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Kudos to Soch for speaking up.
I agree with EK this should belong in Red Mom/Blue Mom column.
I also agree with Julie, EK, and Soch that Rachel is obsessed with Sarah Palin. You may have guessed that I am a Democrat not Republican.


Come one Sarah Palin has 5 kids and is working full time and there is no way she can provide attention every child deserves, no wonder her teenage daughter became pregnant. I admire Hillary Clinton for having one child and raising her well. In this economy how can an average earning family support 5 kids. Also it is humanly not possible to be the best mom to each and every of the 5 kids unless you are a stay at home mom.

Very few teenagers are mature at 18 to have the capability to raise a child, maybe Bristol can do it but I would know of a lot more capable couples who can provide that child a better upbringing.

I agree maturity does not come with age, but if Bristol says abstinence is "not realistic at all" then who knows she may have more kids out of wedlock. She does not sound mature to me.

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If I admired Sarah Palin at all, it would be as a political climber, not as a mother. I say this because it is evident where her priorities are - Who has a high risk pregnancy and does not follow their doctors' orders to go straight to a hospital and instead delivers a speech before getting on a plane to fly home to deliver their baby? A political climber does that, not a good mother/parent. Her actions say it all and nothing she can say about parenting has any credibility in my view. Breeding alone is not good parenting.

If Sarah Palin doesn't make it as a VP, she can always try for motivational speaker or cult leader - she's seriously brainwashed a ton of people!!

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In this world where life has become a little less precious, it is nice to see a family that cherishes it. This is the reason that Sarah Palin appeals to one group of people, and appalls other groups of people.

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