Sarah Palin's Views on Abstinence Lead to Second Grandchild

I am a single father, my wife passed away when my second boy was only 7 and the older one 10. I raised them on my own. We always talk very openly about everything. There is no secrets, and sex is part of the conversations. I knew that regardless of what I would do or say, they would do exactly what they wanted, so I made sure they were informed. There is no full-proof prevention to teenage pregnancy, but sex education is the best approach, in my opinion. At 15, my older son was already aware of the consequences he would have to face if he got a girl pregnant. I talked to him about the difficulties of raising a child when you are still going to school, and all of the things he would miss by being a father at a young age. We talked a lot about condoms, the pill and all of the ways to prevent pregnancy, He knew that the choices were his to make. Both have now finished university and are working. They have girlfriends, and they are not in a hurry to start families. I am convinced that if I had avoided sex education in favor of simply promoting abstinence, the situation could have been dramatically different since my older boy admitted to me that he was actively sexual at 15.

As young men I stressed to my sons that if they got someone pregnant I would not abandon them, throw them out of force them into a marriage they were not ready for, however I told them that I would expect them to take their share of responsiblity and support the girl and her child. Teenagers have sex (SHOCK SHOCK) and they should have the knowledge to protect themselves from STDs and pregnancy. To deny them the facts leads to bad marriages, unwed mothers and a host of other problems the public has to pay for. An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure.

The point here is not that abstinence doesnt work, its that abstinence-ONLY education doesnt work. Educate the kids and abstinence might happen more often.

How is paying $260,000 to a girl who got pregnant out of wedlock supposed to teach young girls not to get pregnant?

Just tell your children about life, give them a good moral compass for making the right choices, tell them about the consequences of making the wrong choices, and love them. The smart ones will do the right thing. The not-so-smart ones, well,,,,,,,, you know how that ends.

1.5 billion for abstinence only education? And yet they want to take away my social security? These people are NUTS!

During my teenage years I drank alcohol,took drugs,had premarital sex.My parents were againt all three.What hypocrites!After those days passed some of those values my parents taught me began to make sense.It's like the Mark Twain saying,my parents got smarter as I got older.

We all want our children to be happy and have a childhood. Not be a child mother themselves. But it is a fact that whatever you teach them when they reach 16 or so they make their own paths, right or wrong.

Some two decades ago my high school taught us about every form of birth control out there. Guess how many underage Moms there were in my graduating class. Zero. I know, not everyone was practicing abstinence.

TWEEK,TWIT,TWEEZER....I'm just throwing out some names for the new one.

Kids will do the do anyway. So, it's important that they get all the info they'll ever need to protect themselves from unplanned pregos, VD and sexual violence.

You miss the point. Abstinence is just a part of sex education, not the be all end all.

"These same programs that Palin and many other conservatives support have received $1.5 billion in federal funding."

Sounds like a good place to start cutting the budget.

It was a formal wedding. The shotgun was white.

Abstinence only "education" is only sticking your head in the sand. Encourage teens not to have sex, but teach them what to use to prevent diseases and pregnancy. Plus, abstinence only "education" does not prepare young people for sex in their later lives. People do use birth control in their marraiges, too.

We teach our children as they grow. However, we all have free will to do as WE want. I am 59 years old and my parents could not push their beliefs on me when I was 16 any better than they can now. We ultimately choose our own paths. Our beliefs are not necessarily that of our our parents and our actions are not necessarily those of our own beliefs. I don't believe in Divorce, but I am divorced. Circumstances and heart sometimes control our decisions, not our heads. This is not a Republican or Democratic situation. It is a personal decision that Track and his wife made at the time. Every person in this world has done things they wish they could take back. BUT, now that they know she is pregnant I am happy to know that they expect life enough to make some more mature decisions. I don't believe in abortion in any circumstance. Yes, I'm a Christian, but my stance against abortion came before I became a christian, not because of it. I was supposed to be an aborted baby as my mother was sick and the Drs. said she could not survive the pregnancy. Nothing was wrong with me. My mother refused and she is still alive at 84 and I have t4 sisters. Two older and two younger. I am happpy for Track and his wife even though it is not be thest circumstances, and I'm sure the baby will be loved when it arrives. After all, most grandmothers take "all contributions" with love. Debbie

Better to educate than copulate!

You can't fix stupid

wow, sounds like "abstinence only" is about as effective as DARE.

Why do reporters care so much about Palin?