The disturbing “pregnancy pact” that apparently led to a rash of teen pregnancies at a Massachusetts high school has stunned people throughout the country and left school officials wondering if contraceptives should be made available to students. Seventeen pregnancies were reported at Gloucester High School this year – four times the number of pregnancies reported at the school last year. According to school principal Joseph Sullivan, all the girls in the pact were 16 years old or younger. Under Massachusetts law, it is a crime to have sex with anyone under the age of 16.
A high school health clinic in the city of Gloucester became suspicious after seeing a surge in girls seeking pregnancy tests. Officials reported that many of the teens who weren’t pregnant seemed very upset. When asked why they made the pact, some of the teen mothers-to-be said it was because they wanted to bring someone into the world who would “love them unconditionally.” Some school officials have blamed the pact on media reports and movies like “Knocked Up” that glamorize teenage pregnancy.
According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, the teen birth rate is on the rise for the first time in 15 years. At present, 3 in 10 girls in the United States become pregnant by age 20. Despite a 38% decline between 1990 and 2004 (most recent data available), there are more than 729,000 teen pregnancies annually.
