Monday, September 01, 2008

Is it a Choice or Not??!!

Many of you will have heard by now that Sarah Palin's 17 year old (unmarried) daughter is preggers. Ann Friedman writing at the American Prospect makes this very important point:

While it's obvious why they made this statement to assure the public that Bristol was not coerced into keeping the baby (after all, she does have a parent who is a staunch opponent of the right to choose and is currently on the Republican presidential ticket), as my significant other pointed out, there's some serious hypocrisy at play here. I mean, John McCain and Sarah Palin don't believe women have a right to choose. It's absolutely absurd for the campaign to emphasize the fact that Bristol "made this decision," and then push for policies that take away that choice.

h/t Atrios

Meanwhile here is Palin from 2006 speaking at the conservative Eagle Forum Alaska:
Q: Will you support funding for abstinence-until-marriage education instead of for explicit sex-education programs, school-based clinics, and the distribution of contraceptives in schools?

SP: Yes, the explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support.

I feel like we are living through a bad political novel. A hurricane hitting New Orleans during the GOP convention, teen pregnancy from a abstinence only advocating young Governor, what is next???

4 comments:

susan m said...

hm, perhaps the hurricanes are God's punishment to Bristol for getting pregnant.




(I am kidding, of course! but you know that's what the right would be saying if it was Obama's daughter.)

Anonymous said...

Leah thinks we should all lay off Palin during this sensitive time for her family. I say, let her turn down McCain's offer of the VP if she knows her daughter's knocked up. What a huge mess this is for the Republicans.

Lauren said...

I disagree with Leah. Obama is being very smart to be so nice - HOWEVER as sorry as I feel for the daughter I think it needs to be pointed out over and over that she believes in ABSTINENCE only education. This is much bigger than Palin's daughter. If they get elected there will be a lot more pregnant 17 year olds who don't even know how to use a condom.

Amy said...

I think this is a perfect example of how the Abstinence only education does not work !! P.S. Don't think Bristol had a choice...