Bristol Palin promotes teen pregnancy prevention

[villager]

Source: AP


Bristol Palin promotes teen pregnancy prevention

(05-05) 08:28 PDT Anchorage, Alaska (AP) --

Unwed mother Bristol Palin is going to take part in a national campaign to help raise awareness for teen pregnancy prevention.

The 18-year-old daughter of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been appointed as a Teen Ambassador for The Candie's Foundation. Bristol Palin will participate in a town hall meeting Wednesday in New York.

She said in a statement that she feels she could be a living example of the consequences of teen pregnancy. She said she would consider it an accomplishment if she can prevent even one girl from getting pregnant.

Bristol Palin gave birth Dec. 27 to a boy named Tripp. She and the boy's father, Levi Johnston, have separated.

<snip>

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/05/05/national/a082800D26.DTL

[beam me up scottie]

1. I heard they know what causes that now.

:banghead:

[saigon68]

23. When you play "Hide the Polska Kielbasa", wear a Condom

she Proclaimed.

[beam me up scottie]

33. I actually feel sorry for the kid.

Can you imagine having to break the news to Mommy Dearest right after she had been chosen as the VP candidate?

Gotta give her kudos for using her own miserable mistake to benefit other girls. I'm surprised her mother's letting her do this.

[madaboutharry]

56. Mommy knew Bristol was pregnant before she was

chosen as the VP. The McCain campaign claimed that Palin told them about it before the announcement, a claim I have never believed.

[beam me up scottie]

64. Either way it would have sucked to be Bristol.

I wouldn't be surprised if her mother didn't partially blame her for losing the election.

[saigon68]

58. Yes probably true.

The unintended consequences can really suck at times

[beam me up scottie]

66. Thank you.

I checked your profile and was moved to re-read The Wall.

[HughBeaumont]

63. "You shoulda put a SOCK on the pickle!" - Ice Cube.

:)

[Buzz Clik]

2. Gawd. What a great choice of spokesperson. I suppose if she helps one girl from getting pregnant...

... then she's been a positive influence. But damn. Just damn.

[pnwmom]

12. She's promoting abstinence. Not one word about birth control on

the web site.

[Javaman]

32. yup she's the poster child for abstinence not working

:rolf: great spokes person. LOL

[TCJ70]

36. What are you talking about?

If she had practiced abstinence she wouldn't have gotten pregnant!

[Javaman]

38. she was practicing abstinence, that's the joke.

it didn't work.

Sigh.

[Maeve]

61. Practiced, but not perfected, so to speak eom

[Javaman]

65. When reality hits the sheets LOL :) nt

[TCJ70]

87. Obviously she wasn't...

[pnwmom]

39. As a long term solution to the problem of teen pregnancies, abstinence programs

don't work. Their success rates are poor compared to programs that emphasize contraception information; too many girls who strive for abstinence fail -- and then get pregnant because they don't take precautions.

[Raine]

55. Yes but total abstinence is

something the majority can't practice so it doesn't work, human beings are fallible.

[Buzz Clik]

35. My original comment was based on the assumption that "abstinence only" generals fails but...

... if a couple of fundie kids bought into the concept and kept from getting pregnant, then that's a success of sorts.

However, on second blush and in light of your comments, it's likely that some girls who might have sought birth control could be convinced to rely on abstinence and get pregnant anyway. That would be a huge failure.

So, I go back to my original feelings way back when that she should stay back in Alaska and raise little Mapquest (or whatever his name is).

[pnwmom]

42. One problem is that because they buy into the abstinence philosophy,

having sex means they failed -- and using contraception would mean they failed ON PURPOSE. Not using contraception, they can rationalize that it was just an accident. They didn't intend to have sex, much less get pregnant, which excuses the "mistake" from their point of view.

[Buzz Clik]

49. The only pre-marital sex they approve is sex that results in conception.

[Kali]

57. "...and raise little Mapquest (or whatever his name is)."

:spray:

napkin, please!

[Deja Q]

54. Contraceptives can fail. And birth control doesn't equate to disease control either...

Or emotional control; Levi used and left her. I doubt she's all happy right now, unless she's the throwaway partying type, and no doubt the media will keep an eye on her and report when she;'s out boozing it up on Saturday nights. Until then, I will take Bristol's words at face value. Hers is a valid point too. Until she's proven wrong.



And a generalized response, aimed at nobody in particular: I've read and listened to people on both sides of the issue. I choose to keep sex special. I'm sorry other people have a problem with some people wanting to keep it special. That's their problem and their loss. They can deal with it, but the rest of us needn't feel bad because we choose to keep it special. Gay, straight, bi, et cetera, we can choose to sleep with lots of people - or build a special relationship. Anyone who damns me or others for wanting the latter... go right ahead. Not all of us had to get knocked up or made ill because of selfishness. And, in some ways, I've been lucky too.

[Lasher]

3. Michael Jackson takes childraising advice on lecture tour.

Opens daycare center.

[saigon68]

24. I thought it was Juggling small children

Over shark infested waters on a cruise ship

[theoldman]

4. I think Bristol is what I call a "very good bad example".

She at least can speak from experience. I am sure she has regrets.

[CTyankee]

67. I'd like to dig deeper and ask how abstinence didn't work for her.

As HER her opinion just why and how did it not work and what are her recommendations and is she abstinent NOW...of course, I can't do that but if I were interviewing her I'd try...

[HopeHoops]

5. Bristol, Bristol, Bristol, there's a simple rule...

BUT A FUCKING CONDOM ON IT!

But obviously Mom was too busy to explain that to her.

[MineralMan]

8. I heard they did that most of the time...almost always

[jmowreader]

14. It's called time management

When Sarah gave Bristol "the talk," Sarah probably spent ALL her time telling Bristol not to have sex and none of it telling her how not get pregnant when she does have sex.

[anachro1]

6. Do as I say

Not as I do.

[marshall]

7. Hopefully she will take her own advice in the future

Especially if she gets involved with her FOB.

I guess she can become the next Betty Ford of the Republican Party--urging the faithful not to make her same mistakes or lending a helping hand to those who have already fallen.

[pnwmom]

9. I assume this is an abstinence program? Not really prevention . . . n/t

[EC]

10. Doesn't the Candies Corp. contribute to NORAL?. N/T

[snowdays]

15. Here are some people who have be fundraising Honorees:.....

Seems to be a good organization--at first glance:

http://www.candiesfoundation.org/history.html



In June 2001, Candie’s launched The Candie’s Foundation, with the mission to educate America's youth about the devastating consequences of teenage pregnancy. The Foundation fuels a celebrity-driven public service announcement campaign that dramatically exposes the devastating consequences of teenage pregnancy, while educating and challenging America’s youth to make healthy decisions about sex.

Background
Neil Cole founded the Foundation in 2001 and since its’ launched The Candies Foundation has made over 500,000,000 million impressions to the teenage audience. The Foundation means a tremendous amount to him and is something that he is most proud of in his career.

Mission Statement
The mission of The Candie’s Foundation is to educate America’s youth about the devastating consequences of teen pregnancy through celebrity PSA campaigns and initiatives.

Celebrities that have participated in the campaigns include Beyonce, Ciara, Jenny McCarthy, Vanessa Minnillo, Ashley Tisdale, Hilary Duff, Ashlee Simpson, Usher, Rachel Bilson, Teddy Geiger amongst many others.

Celebrity Messages Include:

• Be Sexy: It Doesn’t Mean You Have to Have Sex
• Be Smart: Don’t Give Up Your Education
• Be Smart: You Are Too Young to Start
• Not Really the Way You Pictured Your First Crib
• Not What You Had in Mind for Your First Set of Wheels
• You Think Being in School Sucks

PSA Campaign Appearance:

• Print: All the major teen magazines Seventeen, Vibe, The Source, Blender, Teen Vogue, Elle, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, etc.
• Broadcast: All the major networks including ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, MTV, etc.
• Online: AOL, MTV, The-N, Seventeen.com, Black Planet.com, and perezhilton.com.

The Event to Prevent

Each year The Candies Foundation hosts an annual fundraising event to honor individuals that have done exceptional work for the cause and helped advance the foundation message.

Past Honorees have included Senator Hilary Clinton, Katie Couric, Paula Zahn, Governor Thomas Keen, Jane Fonda, Kim Catrall, etc. Past Performers have included Jackson Browne, Jennifer Hudson, Lionel Richie, Teddy Geiger, Jewel, Ashlee Simpson, Destiny’s Child, etc.

2008 was a record year for the Foundation, The Event to Prevent raised close to $1.5 million dollars. In all, the Foundation has raised several million dollars. The monies raised at the Events enable the Foundation to continue its work to develop and produce powerful PSA campaigns and programs.:hi: :hi:

[beam me up scottie]

34. Thanks for the info, welcome to DU!

:hi:

[pnwmom]

47. But comb the website and you get a different picture.

Under "facts" and "info" there's NOTHING about actual contraception. Not a word.

So the same organization, The Candies Foundation, that supports this abstinence program also happens to fund some other GOOD works. But this abstinence program is unlikely to be one of them. Abstinence-only programs are ineffective compared to programs that provide actual contraception information.

[snowdays]

11. I wish her well in being a spokesperson for Prevention.

[piratefish08]

13. Phil Spector to lead awareness campaign for Handgun Safety.......

[undeterred]

16. Good for her.

[pnwmom]

43. Except she's involved in an abstinence program that teaches nothing about

contraception -- at least I couldn't find any on their website. This kind of program isn't very effective at reducing teen pregnancy. It just teaches the same attitude she had when she got pregnant -- having sex as a teen is wrong. Girls with that attitude don't use contraception because that would be admitting that they INTENDED to have sex.

[spotbird]

17. Maybe she should graduate from high school first

What's wrong with those people?

[LeftHander]

18. "Whatever you do..."

"...don't engage in lovemaking, the expression and surrender of your being, becoming one with the person you love and sharing in the exquisite ecstasy of sex, just don't do it."

[brooklynite]

19. Here's the Foundation's Ad campaing...SERIOUSLY!

http://www.candiesfoundation.org/tshirts.html

That ought to get the Social Conservatives back in her corner...

[truthrocks]

27. Talk about sending a mixed-message

"come here-go away" ... "PT" - Yikes!

:evilgrin: O8) :evilgrin: O8) :evilgrin: O8) :evilgrin: O8) :evilgrin:

[dixiegrrrrl]

37. Back in the day there was a 10 letter word for that kind of message....

Started with a C and had a T in there, too.

[Jennicut]

20. I won't knock Bristol, she is just an 18 year old kid. I do wonder if her mother put her up to it

though. And I remember her saying in an interview that just promoting abstinence is not realistic for most teens.

[pnwmom]

45. I bet she probably IS being forced into it. Her mother pays the bills,

she dictates the terms.

[AngryOldDem]

84. If you heard her "interview" on Good Morning America, you'd be convinced.

Sounded scripted from the word go. Even her body language was fake. The questions were open-ended, yet she gave one-sentence, stock answers.

It was embarrassing to watch, and totally undermined the "cause" she is backing.

[anachro1]

21. Seeing how these are republicans

I can totally understand them wanting to smash their genitals with bricks. In fact, it should be the law.

[Debi]

22. David Hasselhoff promotes abstinence from alcohol..

:eyes:

[Enrique]

25. Michael Vick to be PETA spokesman

oh wait, that one's real. :crazy:

[VaYallaDawg]

26. And in other news, somebody left the barn door open.

[bitchkitty]

28. LMAO! n/t

[kestrel91316]

29. Is she going to be promoting abstinence? I mean, it worked so well for HER......

[pnwmom]

44. From the website, it appears to be all abstinence, no contraception. n/t

[sinkingfeeling]

30. It will be interesting to learn how much her life has been affected by those 'consequences'. Most

unmarried teenage mothers don't have 'hired help' to assist in caring for the child. Most don't have parents who provide everything needed so that the girl can continue on with her schooling.

[Arkana]

31. Good for her?

And it's egg on her mother's face too.

[pnwmom]

46. Not really -- if you look at the website, it's just about abstinence.

Nothing about contraception.

[Arkana]

51. Oh. Never mind then. She obviously hasn't learned anything.

[Cha]

40. Ah yes, palin's daughter, front and center,

poster child for abstinence.

[tanyev]

41. So is little Piper going to have to ditch school to stay home and take care of the baby?

Poor kid.

[underpants]

48. Wow Tripp is going to love hearing about this in 10 years or so

Your mother is publicly labeling you as a mistake

[Dappleganger]

50. Now that she hates Levi she's changed her tune...

how conveeeeeeeenient!

[Happyhippychick]

52. Stay in that spotlight Bristol! That's my girl!

[Deja Q]

53. Better late than never.

Levi is utterly worthy of scorn.

Sarah has proven to be an opportunistic ditz. Pro-life and yet she talks about the "burden" of her child; the one with the developmental disability. Not just a ditz. She's worthy of scorn too.



As a single mother, there are challenges and difficulties. Real ones. I applaud Bristol in trying to inject some common sense by speaking out, and hoping her words will reach others around her age.

Bristol is lucky; she could have caught a disease she'd be stuck with the rest of her life, or worse, to go along with the child.

People claim to be compassionate. What Bristol is doing damn well falls into that category too. She has *been there* and *done that*. That gives her credibility, even if she's learning the hard way. :(

[CJCRANE]

59. Teen pregnancy made Bristol famous...

what a great message for all the kids out there!

Oh waitaminute...

:shrug:

[Heidi]

60. Keeping "even one" teen from getting pregnant is a very low standard

for judging one's own accomplishments. What if a teacher said, "If even one of my students learns to read..." or a doctor said, "If just one of my patients feels better..."? That whole "even one" meme rubs me the wrong way and in a big way. :thumbsdown:

[HughBeaumont]

62. "Yes kids, Just Say No to sex. Because you can DO that. Really"

:eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes:

Like sitting on Old Faithful hoping you'll be the one to block it . . . hormones are hard-wired into every human being, and no amount of pretending it ain't so will change that.

[Libertas1776]

68. Bristol Palin says Abstinence Best Path for Teens

Source: Newsday

Unwed mother Bristol Palin says abstinence is a realistic way for teens to avoid unwanted pregnancy and says if she could do it all over again, she would've waited to have sex.

The 19-year-old daughter of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is in New York Wednesday to help promote National Teen Pregnancy Awareness Day.

Palin told ABC's "Good Morning America" that abstinence is the safest and best choice for teens.


Read more: http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-uspali0507,0,849770.story

---

So, like its OK for me to have sex but you can't. Also, abstinence obviously did not work for me, but it totally should for you. What a dumb ditz, just like her mother.

Instead of teaching kids safe, responsible, protected sex, these idiots want them to just not do it.
Its these freaking whacko's kids are the one who get the unwanted pregnenacies, get abortions, or worse just abandon them.

[NJmaverick]

69. A smart person learns from their mistake

A wise person learns from the mistakes of others

A republican never learns from any mistake

[flakey_foont]

70. and she should know, right?

[Donnachaidh]

71. yeah, that option really worked for her, didn't it? n/t

[polichick]

72. Hopefully, there aren't too many teens who are stupid enough to listen to her.

[liberal N proud]

73. Yea, It worked so well for her.

You reap what you sow

[Psychic Consortium]

74. The Palins cannot seem to do anything right.

Personally or professionally.

[IndianaGreen]

75. Teens, including Republican family teens, are having sex as we post in DU

It is a fact that teens will have sex. It is a fact that if they don't take the proper precautions, they will end up either pregnant or with a sexually transmitted disease. The talk of abstinence is just that, empty talk.

[Turbineguy]

76. It reminds me of Graham Kerr's

Pineapple Upside-down Cake.

"Now underneath all that, you put the pineapple!"

Even if she had gotten married she would have had some credibility with that statement. The First Dude could have painted his shotgun white for the occasion.

[livetohike]

77. I wish this family would just go away

None of them have anything important or interesting to say. They are a joke. A made for tv sitcom in the waiting.

[FarCenter]

78. Too soon old; too late smart.

[havocmom]

79. Bristol wants to keep a roof over her and her son's head

Go along to get along, especially when you have a very vindictive, ambitious mother who cars only for herself.

[Aloha Spirit]

80. Yep. Three months ago Bristol said abstinence is "not realistic at all."

Ew why do I even know this stuff.

[Hekate]

81. That was my first thought: Bristol's mom probably took the time to 'splain getting kicked out...

I think the reality for now is that Bristol's job (paid for with room, board, and medical insurance) is to do whatever Mom tells her to. And all Mom wants to do is further her personal ambitions.

Way to twist your kid into knots, Sarah.

I caught way too much of that interview on ABC this morning -- I tuned in to my local station to get the fire news, and there was poor Bristol talking about being a "teen ambassador for abstinence," gods help her.

Hekate

[havocmom]

83. Haven't had news on. Fires again in your area? Damn

Take care, Californians. :cry:

[Hekate]

85. A fire started yesterday afternoon not too far from the area of one of our most recent ones

This is the third in our immediate area in the past 12 months, and being called the Jesusita Fire, probably after the Jesusita Trail up there in the hills. The Governator was being accurate last year when he said that there is no longer a "fire season" because at this point it's a year-round condition.

The drought continues, and yesterday we had a hot wind -- perfect conditions for "human accident" or arson, take your pick. It didn't spread as much as we thought it did, though, and that's the good news. It's still uncontained, and that's the bad news.

The kittens and I are inside with the windows shut, avoiding the smoke that will blow our way when the wind shifts. These days it gives me asthma. Zola, one of the kittens, was just on my lap helping me type. Now she's poking Betsy, my elderly little dog, who is napping.

My daughter and her husband just got dibs on a lease-option-to-buy house in the neighborhood of the Jesusita Fire -- they're supposed to start moving next week. I phoned her and she was philosophical: If it's gotta burn, please do it now. Of course the whole region is hoping no houses burn at all, but it is a densely populated area.

The Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara is always the staging area for local disasters, especially fires, and as we drove home last night around 9 pm we could see it was packed with fire trucks from around the region showing up for mutual aid. It always makes me feel good to see them there and how well-coordinated they are.

Thanks for your good wishes -- you take care, too. :hi:

Hekate

[greiner3]

82. My only regret;

From my teen years is that I did not screw more! I encouraged (As only an absent father might) my children's involvement with at first awkward sexual advances towards their peers turn into rounded human beings whose outlook and drives are not mostly sexual but only a part of their adulthood (They are all into their 20's now). Sex is the driving force for life on this planet. Why shunt it in humans just because some dusty books say some invisible being wants you to?

[Cha]

86. Do as I say...Not as I

do. And, what does that say for the baby she bore? Hmmmm? How would you like it if you grew up and found out your mother went around peddling "abstinence" after you were born?

[truthisfreedom]

88. From a scientific standpoint, abstinence is simply the religious right's way of making more sheeple.

It's quite elegant, if you think about it. They breed ignorance, fool parents and kids into believing that abstinence is the answer, and "POP!", out comes another one! More bounty in the collection plate, more sheeple to build their ginormous churches.

To the religious right, a vagina is nothing more than a clown car to provide them fodder.

[rainbow4321]

89. Hmmm...so the organization promotes abstinence, yet they use ads like this:

http://www.themudflats.net/2009/05/05/celebrating-mixed-messages/