17 Teen Girls Enter into Pregnancy Pact at Gloucester, Mass., High School

According to many sources, including the Associated Press, New York Times and CBS, a group of 17 teens made a "pregnancy pact" to raise the children together. All teens are from Gloucester, Mass.

Gloucester is a small fishing town of 30,000 that is lately having economic troubles. The school of Gloucester has around 1,200 students enrolled.

The pact was discovered when school officials from Gloucester observed a spike in the School's Pregnancy rate, which was tour times higher than the average school pregnancy rate in Massachusetts.

According to the AP, the first reports of the students' pact to get pregnant were publicly reported in the Gloucester Daily Times in March, when Principal Joseph Sullivan had heard rumors that the students were talking about some girls getting pregnant on purpose.

A full story about the teen girls pregnancy pact has been published by the New York Times on Friday June 20, 2008. The New York Times article is reporting that these girls were all impregnated by men in their mid-20s. One homeless guy is credited for being the father of one of the children of these girls who made the "pregnancy pact"

Ms. Kirk, a member of the school committee, who reportedly was interviewed by the New York Times is crediting the whole situation to the lack of opportunities that these girls are having in Gloucester. According to Kirk, there has been lately a significant cut in economic programs, services, and after-school programs, which, according to Kirk, have all an impact on these girls social environment.

The girls, none of which were older than 16, are reportedly celebrating their pregnancies with and plans for baby showers (AP). Since under Massachusetts's law, it is a crime to have sex with anyone under the age of 16, city officials are probing into the "pregnancy pact" case to see if charges can be brought to men who have had sex with these under age girls (statutory rape charges). However, they are cautious about this course of action because of the complexity of the problem.

The rash of pregnancies has shaken this small seaside city located at approximately 30 miles north of Boston. Complex social issues are involved here. Maybe the girls believe that having a baby can fill the void of love they have had in their lives. Maybe they just think is cool to have a baby but the truth is that having a baby is not a small issue for a woman and especially for a teenage girls.

You can see a video about the Teen girls pregnancy pact on YouTube (see sources bellow)

Sources:
Reports: Teen girls made pact to get pregnant URL: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g798CHaazwkE1E0TMQv8AZ60Bj1wD91DJEG80
Spike in School's Pregnancies Leads to Report That Some Resulted ...URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/us/20pregnant.html?ref=health
Video: Teen Girls' Pregnancy Pact URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fvcJ0cnCV8