Why is everyone assuming that a teenage pregnancy must be an accidental pregnancy?

No commentator I've heard or read has considered that Bristol Palin's pregnancy might not be an accident. It seems shocking to suggest that Bristol Palin wanted to get pregnant, but there are a lot of intentional teen age pregnancies, society just chooses to ignore that and think all teenage pregnancies are the result of ignorance, a lack of control or access to contraception. But the more I find out, the more I think Bristol Palin's pregnancy was planned. She is around 5 months along, so that puts conception in the April-ish time frame. She was sent to live with her aunt in Anchorage for the Spring semester of school, usually that starts january/february. So she was sent away before she was pregnant, not because she was pregnant as some bloggers have assumed. According to the boyfriend's mother, they were planning on getting married before they found out she was pregnant. I'm willing to believe that. So we have Romeo and Juliette here, who have pledge their undying love and vowed to be together forever. Maybe her parents thought she was too young to settle down, maybe they caught them in a compromising position, so it was decided that she should be sent away to forget about him and move on, or at least stay chaste and NOT get knocked up (because sending her away is better than putting her on the pill). But Bristol and Levi know the trump card with pro-life, evangelical parents: get knocked up and they'll be rushing those kids off to the chapel. Didn't anyone notice the engagement ring on her finger the night her mother made her acceptance speech? This marriage has been in the works since before Palin accepted McCain's offer. Accidental pregnancy? I don't buy it. Bristol Palin wanted to get married, she was sent away and separated from her love, and now she's pregnant. Seems pretty obvious to me. Maybe the bigger issue here is why does a 16/17 year old (I can't find her birthday anywhere) want to be married so badly?

Posted by eava - September 02, 2008, at 10:15PM | in Election
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[0+|0-] Author Profile Page southernbellefromhell said:

I totally buy this. I know there were girls at my high school (in a town about the size of her hometown) who intentionally sought to get pregnant. Sometimes it was indeed a way to force their parents' hand to get permission to marry (needed under 18 in my state). Sometimes it was just out of needing love and attention.

I would not presume to understand what is going on in her head, but I have to think it would be pretty rough to be a teenage girl with parents focused on a special-needs infant, a brother shipping out to Iraq and the needs of state government making demands on your parent. If this is the case (and we don't know that it is, but it could be) it would make sense that a girl could be seeking love, affection and permanence.

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