Branza

Branza

Fucking sad!!

spitsfire

ali is a cranky whiner

i'm not trying to turn this into an abortion debate, because my views on it aren't all that controversial (for jezebel standards), but there are *some* women that would never want to have an abortion. save being raped or facing serious health complications, i for one would not feel comfortable with ending a pregnancy, so i'm happy for that one woman out there who regrets her decision because she was pressured by an abusive husband/boyfriend, that she has someone to talk to about it.

many (not all) pro-choicers like to pretend that abortion is some party and will never ever have a negative effect on anyone, but that reasoning is just as illogical as half the stuff the pro-life nutcases have to say.

onestrawplz

or would the state get to decide if it wants to, regardless of what her parents think?

onestrawplz

I have had two abortions, and I have no regrets and no shame about them. Making those choices made it possible for me to be the mother I am to my daughter, who came when I was ready to choose motherhood.

I don't think Jamie-Lynn is "trashy" for getting pregnant at 16, or for choosing to have the baby instead of terminating, any more than I think any of the women here who had sex as teenagers are trashy (that is, not trashy at all). But I do think, from what I've read, that it is an unintended pregnancy that probably stemmed from a lack of reproductive education.

I mean, it stemmed from having sex, but the preparation for that sexual encounter was probably limited by a lack of education and openness about the realities of it all. And of course by being stupid hormonal teenagers.

I still would love to see an episode of Zoey 101 deal with this. Oh well.

yamish

Uglyshoe

rowingrowingrowing

randomthoughts

randomthoughts

Erie

wigglepuppy

ltlbbynthn

JazzednJersey

There is no way she can take care of two babies when she can barely put herself through school, but she doesn't want an abortion = adoption. I know it's out of the question for the good Ms. Spears to go that route, but I sure wish she would.

StupidFace

leftcoaster

[www.brawndo.com]

Bollywhaaa

leftcoaster

BadenBaden

dokuchan

girly

sanibelly

1000 times, thank you! My mom had me at the age I am now, and I am definitely not ready to have a kid for at least 5 yrs. But really, if I got pregnant today it would be far from ideal, but I know that I could make it work, and I certainly couldn't justify to myself having an abortion. Not something that I would impose on anyone else, but my choice.

loubatie

Being pregnant/having a child is certainly not a career killer in general, but in showbiz, with all the scandal and having to deal with the effects of pregnancy/motehrhood in a career that relies on being pretty/thin/youthful, it can be a killer. It very much depends on tehtype of career; JL is on one of those Disney tween shows, right? Image-wise, not something you can pull off with a baby bump. Keisha Castle-Hughes, however, already had a career built on her talent and maturity, and a mostly adult audience, when she got pregnant; so she will likely be able to continue having a successful acting career if that is what she chooses. (I was asking in earnest, btw if anyone knows what she's up to)

loubatie

Bollywhaaa

katastic

okay12345

Totally true. By my high school graduation, like 20 percent of the girls in my class were pregnant. We were making bets on who would go into labor while getting their diploma on stage. It is no exaggeration that now (almost six years later) every. single. girl. has two kids, lives in a trailor and has like, a million babydaddies. There's something about small Southern towns. They knock you up and never let you leave.

TheOtherJen

BlondeGrlz

Used to be you could say the same thing about adult career-women, and today people seem to be able to press forward after the 'setback' of having a child if they want to.

So, a few months of your life are almost completely occupied with something, and then later you can make arrangements to free up more of your time (child care) and somehow your career is over?

Why would you consider having a child, career-wise, to be any worse than being out of work a few months?

Unless it's the scandal factor, but other people have made it through scandals.

Hopefully these young parents can prove people wrong in how they raise their child and cope with the future.

Here's a very interesting chart: [www.kidshealth.org]

girly

What's so wrong with post-abortion counseling (or choosing not to have an abortion in teh first place)? I for one would certainly want some support if I ended a pregnancy, voluntarily or not.

loubatie

treecut...will cut a beech

treecut...will cut a beech

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Awesome.

hannah2007

loubatie

Datehole

Ouch.

Despite my age, I am in *no* condition to raise a child right now. (Grad school = insane schedule and very limited budget, with student loan payments looming on the horizon.) And I'm pretty goddamn smart. But you know what? If I got pregnant tomorrow, I wouldn't have an abortion. No judgment on anyone who does have one, but barring rape or serious, quality-of-life-destroying birth defects, I cannot imagine having one.

But I'd find a way to make my life work with the kid in it. I have supportive parents. I'd slow down at school. I'd figure it out, and being pretty damn smart would be to my advantage.

Jamie Lynn Spears is young, but she has resources available to her that most young women, especially those in lower socio-economic groups, do not. She can have the kid, hire a nanny, and go about her business. She'd be a crappy parent to do so, but it's *possible*. She can take a few years off and get her life back in order when the kid's in school. Because she has money, she has choices that make keeping her baby/not terminating the pregnancy a rational choice.

Having an abortion = a legitimate, personal, important decision. NOT having an abortion = legitimate, personal, important decision. Having a baby young doesn't make you stupid, any more than having an abortion makes you an immoral slut.

/rant over.

snarkhunting

Heehee.

hannah2007

Well, I guess rumours about JL wanting to quit show biz are true, because a pregnant 16 year old on a popular show for tweens isn't exactly the best thing. Anyone who is SMART would have an abortion, just as any pregnant 16 year old honour student who is a prime candidate for an Ivy League education will have one so she wouldn't lose too much time at school.

PetiteGal

LilahCello

i still maintain that the new rash of teen pregnancies has to, in some way, be influenced by these celebrities getting pregnant at whatever age. remember when celebrities got pregnant and you didn't hear about it, regardless of their marital status? they just laid low from the social scene and then had the baby....or didn't...or whatever. now, it's this big friggin' celebratory thing, complete with red carpet stuff, whispers of how they'll drop the baby weight, baby showers...it's all quite annoying.

rednrowdy

krazykarot

At college I discovered boys, and I've never had a pregnancy scare. The entire idea of being pregnant is kind of icky to me, so...seeing so much attention focused on knocked-up celebs? It icks me out. "Coming at you live, from J.Lo's cervix!" ICK ICK ICK.

I don't plan on having kids anytime soon, or, maybe, ever, but I'm totes with the "pregnancy should be private and special" crowd.

tscheese

You're right, for Jamie Lynn especially, she has the money to continue on with her career, but for many women who are young, it is hard. It deters you from going away to college if desired and it stunts your childhood. That's tough.

bess marvin, girl detective

kittenfoo

I know people who have had unplanned, unwanted pregnancies because they were stupid. But I also know people who do got knocked up on purpose, even though they really shouldn't have. If little JL keeps her baby and really does live a quiet, normal life in LA, then I won't judge her. Much.

Also, we're going to start trying for kids in a few months, and the fact that EVERYONE IN THE WORLD in already pregnant pisses me off. Didn't it used to be something private and special?

BlondeGrlz

recidivicious

bess marvin, girl detective

She herself is a child. This is insane. Gah.

Also I would like to know what the hell she is wearing in this picture. It looks like a geriatric swimwear coverup bought at a Kmart before she was born.

tscheese

and i'm sorry, i STILL don't understand how girls who can afford both birth control AND condoms can still manage to get pregnant. i know biology is tricky but if BOTH is used right with one backing up the other, HOW can you go wrong? forget to take the pill, at least you have a condom on. condom bursts, at least you're on the pill. should be foolproof, no?

bess marvin, girl detective

SequinsMakeTheWorldGoRound

cynique71

JazzednJersey

I am glad someone said it. It's not that I'm *happy* for Jamie-Lynn, exactly, b/c it's really not great to be pregnant at 16. But her life is not over or ruined. It's just gotten a more difficult--or it has if she is going to be a good parent.

Maybe I'm hyper-sensitive about this, since the women in my family have tended to have children very young, both within and outside of wedlock (I was born to parents who had been married for three years without kids--my mom was 20 when I was born). And yet my family is reasonably successful.

It's not the end of the world. It's not necessarily a good thing, but her life isn't over.

(On the other hand, I am a 28-year-old virgin, and it's entirely possible that the fact that I'm the first girl in my family in several generations to *not* have children by my age...well.)

snarkhunting

SinisterRouge

Momma Spears was writting a book about parenting which was to be released in 2008. It's now delayed. Unless the book was about how NOT to raise your children, it should be cancelled.

Oy vey

Queen Of Diamonds

AthertonMerriweather

However on her living with her boyfriend. It's a little confusing, because Mamma Spears (Granny Spears??) says Jamie Lynn never misses curfew, yet she also lives with her boyfriend? Huh? Anyway, If she's allowed to live with the boyfriend, it sounds like Jamie Lynn is an emancipated minor, which means Mamma Spears can do nothing to control her...I'm pretty sure lots of teen celebs are emancipated minors. Makes it easier for contracts and stuff like that. And I guess as an emancipated minor, she doesn't require parental/guardian sigs if she wants to get married.

As for teens getting pregnant and keeping the baby: Definitely agree it's a class thing. At my upper middle class high school, NO ONE had a baby before graduation. There may have been a few hush-hush...so-and-so had an abortion, but I'm pretty sure many of us were still virgins when we graduated. However, a classmate of mine in university, who grew up in a predominantly French-Catholic town in northern Ontario, said there were at least three or four girls in her class of 40-something who had babies on their laps at graduation.

PetiteGal

thatonegirlsays

erikafl

i'm all for sex education and whatnot, but how can jamie lynn be shocked that she was pregnant if she and her boyfriend were having sex? condoms, pill, blah...i've known grown adults who used both of those things for years and ended up pregnant. so if y'all were banging like rabbits, then why the shock and surprise?

rednrowdy

ms.smartypants

jessicarabbit

kroliosis

amoureuse is hiding under a rock till Election Day

Seriously, I'm disturbed by the fact it's the subject of a six-page spread. True, there's nothing *that* shocking in having sex when you're around 16 or so, she's not the first and she won't be the last. But it's just ironic when you and your trainwreck sis have been all about "no sex before marriage" and all that crap, while acting like tramps and being totally hypocrite about it.

And I love how Mama Spears' parenting book has been postponed. Maybe she should write a book about grandparenting now.

anxia

Smarterthanmen

Yet kids as young as 12 are popping out sprogs with more ease than I choose my winter coat. You know what they say about taking a horse to water, but you can't make it drink...?

gherkinfiend

biglar07

wannaspankinplz

I'm happy she's keeping the baby. When I say I hope she learns a lesson, I mean that I hope she makes better choices in the future for the sake of her and her baby.

(goes for the dad, too--supposed adult?!)

girly

IamnotStarJones

fizzyg

Ashila

shiningstar

Jenloveshercurves

annab

(1) A person who is nineteen years of age or older has sexual intercourse, with consent, with a person who is thirteen years of age or older but less than seventeen years of age, when the victim is not the spouse of the offender;

So, assuming it happened in La. and assuming they were the same ages as they are now, he committed statutory rape. It will not be prosecuted however.

Sorry to get all legal on you. I paid a fortune for that JD, I gotta use it sometime.

Ashila

kitkat0704

Short version? YES.

hystericalredhead

(and parenthetically, yes, not getting any til post-college is NOT that weird. It's what works for you and makes you comfortable, and that's your own damn business! and vice versa, obvs.)

*also, I got "Planned Parenthood Protested" for the first time this year when I moved from lovely liberal Minneapolis to conservative Cincinnati. The protest was a little weak, however, as it was one elderly man in a lawn chair surrounded by big-eyed baby drawings who was really too frail to yell his judgement upon my uterus very loudly. It was more like "grandpa's tired but thinks you're kind of a tramp". Still, weirded me out, as I'd just never seen that before in real life.

nadarine

FairhairedOptimist

sleepingwiththeenemy

Telling your kid 'no' to something so very stupid as letting your 16 year old daughter live with a 19 year old boy doesn't take away your liberal free love feminist license. It just also makes you a parent. Cheers to your mother, as she sounds awesome.

StupidFace

ilovejohnnythunders

I apologize for perhaps lack of clarity. Like everyone else, am toasting one to finals being over.

Mav

FairhairedOptimist

Jezebel_In_Training

easy money

apathetic.objector

Jenloveshercurves

mellybelle

kshenkshen

In CA, it's a misdeameanor finable by $2000 for an adult having sex with a minor (minor being younger than 18) who is less than 2 years younger than the adult, and $5000 for an adult having sex with a minor who is more than 2 years younger than him. More than 3 years, and it's $10,000. Any minor under 16 + adult = $25,000 fine.

And the age of consent in Louisiana is 17, not 16. Might be a problem, cuz a born baby is per se evidence of the sexual relationship.

Yaneh

Maybe I misunderstand you, but absolutely class does. How is it study after study show that teen/unplanned pregnancy is correlated with socioeconomics? It has to do with a local culture that supports this...class, lack of education, lack of "opportunity costs," family upbringing, and local norms where getting knocked up is neutral...

They're related.

marie123

Jenloveshercurves

onestrawplz

LaFemme

Seriously, why is this such a big deal? I know a lot of women who had babies at a young age and a lot of them are doing fine now. Many aren't, granted, but most of the ones who aren't fine would have been that way regardless of a baby.

I am pro-choice, but that means CHOICE. Abortion is NOT the right choice for everyone.

@YANEH: Wow, a 19 year old is a rapist for having sex with a 16 year old? Golly, I guess a lot of the people I know raped someone during their youth.

BlueFairy

howdybeep (runs with monkey wrenches)

LaFemme

What am I saying? This isn't going away. This problem--girls having kids as soon as they are sexually mature (and in the case of rape, as soon as they can walk)--is as old as humanity itself.

I just wish we could move forward and actually treat family planning just for what it is--anticipating what being a responsible, prepared parent to a child entails. Hard to do that if you're still a kid yourself or living hand to mouth...

Rant rant rant....sorry to state the incredibly, revoltingly obvious. This stuff makes me exhaustingly sad.

marie123

Red Parchment

Once, for the paper I worked at, I had to go to a crazy-people meeting, and I was so mad I was nearly shaking. If I hadn't been there for work, maybe I could have stood up, at one point, cleared my throat, and announced, "SODOMY!" Then sat down. Then stand back up and say, "MASTURBATION!" Of course, if I did that too long I would have had to do a one-woman performance of Hair: The Musical.

Now, I need to get off this thread and go to bed. Everyone, take your pills.

lalaland13

@LipstickLibrarian: HAHA I love it!

BeAgrestic

TipsyRussell

TipsyRussell

perphiction

Family planning should be just that--anticipating whether or not you are ready to raise a child and the commitment/consequences that come with it.

For a country with birth control and "enlightened" modern/Western views of women and investing in children (instead of just giving birth so you have someone to help support the farm)....to think of people who don't even ATTEMPT to use birth control when they are unable/unwilling to financially and emotionally have a kid...it's like the way a horse shits while it trots. Kids just "happen," right? No big deal....just drop 'em off at the local hospital/fire house/DUMPSTER/child services and breeze right on.

If you don't have your shit together in general (or in this case, if you're young, impulsive, and come from a culture that condones this bullshit...a culture and a miserable FAMILY), you're not going to give a shit about the consequences of your actions when it comes to family planning. MY white trash roots eschew birth control in particular b/c the drugs make putting on condoms difficult.

God...what you describe makes me so angry and so sad, and the powers that be smile and pat themselves on the back, continue to lie to kids through abstinence-only classes, enforce the Global Gag Rule, and then slash funding for S-Chip, foster care, Head Start, etc.

It's a nightmare.

marie123

I just yelled back, "It's okay, I'm just here for a root canal!" Fun times. Assholes.

LipstickLibrarian

snickersnack

polypam

mynnie_me

snickersnack

My mom worked at Womens clinic for a few years as a counselor and I heard some insults thrown at her (and me) that still make me cringe.

BeAgrestic

Miss. Money-Sterling

ps What state are you from? I'm in NC which isn't as conservative as some states, but its definitely an active part of the bible belt.

BeAgrestic

snickersnack

And I do see your point. It's just where I come from, almost all I hear and read about, when I hear about women who get an abortion, is how guilty they felt or should feel. When I realized I might not feel guilty about aborting a pregnancy, I almost felt...guilty.

I want the woman to be able to do what she wants to do, be it keep the baby, abort it, or sell it to the Spears family. OK, not that last part, but that's my (admittedly weak) attempt at levity.

I wouldn't insist that every single person who walks out of the clinic sing a happy song anymore than I would insist a woman walking out of a hospital with a newborn do that.

lalaland13

sanibelly

I like how you don't really care about the child's wellbeing, just about teaching Jamie Lynn a lesson.

Yaneh

such_details

onestrawplz

nah, but that show WAS a trash overload. I do kind of love Dana (?), the futch girl. My money is on her.

Katxyz

It's creepy that the dad is 19. Does not seem to have good enough judgment to keep himself from being vulnerable to statutory charges and saddled his gf with a tough choice.

She's pregnant but she's no more thoughtless/careless about sex than many adult men and women.

At least she has the means to support herself and her child.

Hope she learns from it for the future. Maybe they were committed, but it's probably best to 'secure' the commitment fist before any conduct that risks starting a family.

girly

gordiva

brooklynchi

Hey, what's that off in the distance, Jamie-Lynn? Two things? Hey, it's your childhood and your career (as a precocious 16-year-old) running away (with their 19-year-old live-in boyfriends...)!

Menouthis

Yep, little Spears and her embryonic spawn.

Sev

Yaneh

I'm talking about it. I had an abortion at 19, no guilt, no regrets.

snickersnack

Jesus, she's 11 years younger than I am. I can't fathom being pregnant at my age, let alone 11 years ago.

Sev

Yaneh

onestrawplz

Also, why is she wearing, like, an entire pan's worth of blush on her face? She looks like me when I get bored and play with the colors I shouldn't wear from my Ulta blockbuster palettes.

not.a.clever.name

Archetype

spectatertot

onestrawplz

bifteck-frites

BeAgrestic

J.D.Regent

Katxyz

J.D.Regent

onestrawplz

Yaneh

SaSa84

Katxyz

distractedbyshinyobjects

"i wouldn't say the majority of women regret their decision, but what about the women who do regret it? maybe they were forced into it by an abusive boyfriend/husband? it's not all cheery rainbows. it can have psychological effects on people if they weren't too sure on their decision in the first place."

All true for going to term and giving birth, too. Just saying.

Yaneh

missbananafish

brooklynchi

SaSa84

BlueMorpho

onestrawplz

brooklynchi

distractedbyshinyobjects

fabforever1

dixiedeelite