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Show Our Readers Write On teen pregnancies perception that it is often portrayed as "macho" with little or no responsibility attached. I wish that young men would tour that same school and see those young girls, j many of whom carry their burden alone having been rejected by the boy who got them in that condition. In talking to many girls in this situation situa-tion we discovered that they feel angry that the boy got away with it "scot-free." We also observe that many divorced women are the victims of the same situation-the adulterous husband got out of marriage and the wife was left rejected and yet dependent on him for financial supporta sup-porta horrible bitter feeling of being be-ing a victim results. So in discussing this issue with those involved and truly wondering what is the consequence to a young boy in this situation, it seemed very reasonable to us that he should naturally nat-urally bear the financial responsibility. respon-sibility. Some then respond and say, "But I play football or basketball or soccer, or whatever the extracurricular extra-curricular activity, and I can 't work." Dear Editor: Saturday, Nov. . 10, your newspaper ran an editorial lambasting lam-basting the stand my husband and I recently took concerning the growing grow-ing problem of teen pregnancies. You took some of our comments out of context and misquoted us. I have before me a letter I wrote to the Davis County school board dated Sept. 5. May I correctly quote from that letter and perhaps clarify our position. "It seems to me that all the sex awareness and self-respect programs pro-grams involving the problem are only part of the solution. In talking with my own youth and listening to many others as well as to parents, there is an apparent lack of commitment com-mitment and responsibility on the part of this generation. I believe that part of that reason is that our youth see very little consequence to misbehavior. There seem to be double standards everywhere we . look. How can we expect our young people to uphold law when there is no punishment for misbehavior? I believe that when a student is guilty of immorality there should be a consequence." I realize that this may well be just a matter of semantics, but I feel that your article did not honestly represent rep-resent our position. I truly believe that our youth have little knowledge of the consequence they are undertaking under-taking when they break the standard of morality. My husband and I recently toured the Young Parent School in Davis County and spent several hours speaking with the administrator and counselor of that facility. Never have we been so impressed with such a staff. They are some of the most compassionate and loving . people we have ever met who are extremely qualified in dealing with the problems of unwed mothers. They were very well acquainted with the natural consequences of pregnant young girls. To me this school is the kindest environment to help a girl in this situation. It removes her from the gossip and humiliation that often accompanies a public setting. To me it also protects pro-tects the other students from feeling that this is acceptable behavior. When we see something too often, it becomes commonfirst we "pity, then endure, then embrace." I wish that every young girl who has not made the commitment to abstinence would go tour the Young Parent School. She would see young mothers, some of whom board a bus at 6:45 a.m. with a little baby and diaper bag, books and homework to come to school to continue their education. We saw a nursery full of little babies from 10 days old to several months old, which were cared for by these young mothers on a rotation basis. Teen motherhood is not glamorous. It is full of pain, responsibility, rejection, re-jection, confusion and low self-worth. self-worth. Girls pay a very heavy price indeed! But what of the boys who have fathered these babies? What is the consequence to them? Most consequences conse-quences are not visible to other youth. Our media has so ruined that The logical answer to us is, then you better give it up and get a job to support this child. You should have thought of what obligations you were risking when you engaged in premarital sex. May I again quote from my letter-"Students in that situation should be relieved of any extracurricular activities so as to act responsibly and be able to provide J financial support of their cir- r cumstance. Many people have gone to college supporting families all the while. It is not impossible to get t an education while working and supporting a child." The boy might need to realize that under the law, as long as that boy is listed as the father and the baby is not adopted out, he will be financially responsible for the child an estimated cost of $65 ,000-until or if a change in parenthood occurs. Your editorial stated many things that we agree with. Freedom of choice coupled with strong education edu-cation has always produced the most constructive solutions. However, we have not advocated taking away freedom of choice. They still have the right to choose. We are only reminding you that once the choice is made, you cannot choose the consequence. We agree that the school system is already burdened enough and ideally these teachings must come from the home. We prefer teaching the moral and ethical aspects in our home. But when we stated that education edu-cation is not the only solution, we are absolutely convinced that is true. Kids need to see consequences to their actions. That is the kind of education that we believe is so desperately des-perately needed in today's society. We considered long and hard before we spoke out. It is easier to just shut our doors, teach our own children and not be too concerned SEE letter PG. A-7 Letter CONT. FROM PG.A-6 about yours. But after seeing this problem grow and cause so much sorrow to many from homes that we respect and admire we began to feel that it is our responsibility to do everything possible to uphold and maintain the moral values of this community. Our greatest sorrow from your editorial was the impression it may have given that we have no compassion com-passion for those who may have dealt with this problem. However shortsighted it may appear, we are only addressing in this case, the subject of consequences and prevention. Connie L. Rose |