Pick of Palin Highlights Republican Opposition to Teen Pregnancy Prevention

I like to listen to people I know who I deem "swing voters." My octogenarian mother-in-law is not a fan of Obama, but McCain's selection of Sarah Palin for vice president has put my mo-in-law firmly in Obama's camp. McCain's choice of Palin, she said, was "terrible." She thinks a woman with fIve children, one of them Down Syndrome, and with an expectant teenage daughter, ought not to be gallivanting all over the country running for vice president and preaching "family values" to others.

Older voters like my mother-in-law, who've expressed concern about Obama's lack of experience, are not reassured by the choice of Alaska Governor Palin, who just 19 months ago was the mayor of a town of 7,000 people.

It is, of course, Palin's choice to run, and if she were a man, she probably would not be judged harshly for her choice to put a career opportunity before her family if she were a man. And who's to judge whether she or her husband Todd are there for their children? Men can certainly be primary caregivers.

About one-third of girls in the United States get pregnant before age 20, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Here in North Carolina, about 60 percent of high school teens engage in premarital sex. Legislators are debating the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of abstinence-only sex education. One study by Rebecca Bach of Duke University indicates that "counties in which Abstinence-plus programs are used have experienced a greater decline [in teen pregnancy rates] than counties utilizing the Abstinence-only curriculum." 

In the Senate, John McCain opposed teen pregnancy prevention funding, according to the Associated Press, and Gov. Palin cut funding for teen moms. The Republican Party platform states that the "solution" to this epidemic is simply for all teens to abstain from sex. Teens should not be given access to birth control, and abortion should be outlawed. But a prime example of the failure of this public policy position is the family of the vice presidential nominee. One can only conclude that the practical impact of the Republican Party position is to INCREASE the number of children born to teenagers. I do not see this as good for families or good for society. Do you?

Drill Deeper:

• Pro-life and Pro-Choice Advocates Should Seek Common Ground
• Neither Scare Tactics Nor Denial Are Solution to High Teen Pregnancy Rates in U.S.
• Life Begins At Conception, a 'Culture of Life' Must Be Promoted, But the Death Penalty is a Good Idea
• Basic Incompetence from McCain (Andrew Sullivan)
• Obama's Experience Includes Beating the Clintons, by David Frum