It's been reported that Palin does not believe in contraception period. Condoms provides protection against diseases for young and old alike.

What I don't know is if this is something she validates for herself and hers or for all and would use her posiiton to attempt to circumvent the distribution for those in need.

Also, if there is no birth control in her family, it's not 'too late' for her to become pregnant once again. That would definitely be problematic for a Vice President or President.

All the above is why this is appropriate to be discussed.

In addition to exploiting the difficult situation of an innocent 17 year-old, this argument fails because it demonstrates a misapprehension of how policy opinion formation works. Stanford political scientist Shanto Iyengar has published the results of media exposure experiments that reveal the following: when shown news stories about individual cases of a given social phenomenon, people's opinions about public policy are not affected. For example, documenting the story of an unemployed homeless person does not change a subject's opinions on matters of welfare or unemployment. On the other hand, if they are shown a news story that gives information on aggregate poverty and unemployment, their opinions do change (and in the expected direction). So, for various reasons, anecdotes don't change minds (which, come to think of it, is quite rational).

So, don't flog the story of any individual family, no matter how demonstrative you think it is, if your goal is to influence public opinion. Not only is it bad form, it's pointless. If you want to talk about the failure of abstinence-only education, talk about the scientific studies that show they don't change teenagers decisions about whether to go all the way. Then talk about how, without accurate and candid sex education, these teenagers are more likely to get pregnant without wanting to, and to spread sexually transmitted diseases. Talk about how unwed teenage mothers are less likely to get a college education and achieve a decent standard of living for themselves and their children. People say this science stuff is boring, but it's more likely to change people's minds than pin-pointing any given personal story.

Q: Why doesn't Bristol Palin matter?

A: She's not running for president.

Statistically, the children of fundamentalist parents are more likely to get pregnant while teenagers, to receive less education, to hold lower paying jobs and to have their marriages end in divorce, than children of parents that are secular or of non-fundamentalist creed.

The reasons for this statistical confluence of bad stuff and fundamentalist religion are complex, but it is perfectly legitimate to ask wether the rest of the country would like to live under the policies devised by the people who have a demonstrative lack of ability to lead a family life beneficial to THEIR children.

I think that it is absolutely proper to ask if the lack of sex education for girls that Palin has backed politically and presumably controlled personally in her family, has contributed to her daughter's early pregnancy, which, anecdotes notwithstanding, is statistically a bad thing for a young woman.

"This is what the "culture of life" is about, where its endpoint goes: Teen pregnancy isn't a bad thing or something to be concerned about, it's essentially neutral. The only point at which teen pregnancy becomes a practical or moral problem is if you try to prevent it."

I respectfully disagree with you on this point. I believe the "culture of life" is just that. Respect Life. I don't know anyone in church or otherwise who thinks that teen preg is okay. Certainly when in a fundamentalist church, like the one I attend, the goal is no sex before marriage. We on the left could stand to take a look at how loosely abortion is being talked about. Abortion is a horrific thing for a mother or a couple to endure. For some, it scars them for life. Let's not make light of such choices, one way or the other.

Also please note, this Palin business is a red herring. We must move on. Let this gossip go. It will lead to no good. To attack the right on this point is to raise the enthusiasm of their base. If you want to see those 5 million new jobs, the 1 million plug in hybrids at 150mpg, affordable (& univeral!) healthcare, and be off foreign oil in 10years, then we need to keep the spotlight on McCain. Marginalize Palin.

That poor kid. She must be scared shitless. As if being pregnant at 17 isn't enough, it threatens her mom's political ambitions where the stakes are so high.

Ok, I took my own advice and started a new thread.

Realize by attacking a teenager we are playing right into McCain's hands.

Do you really believe poor little Bristol HAD a choice? Even if she'd been willing to buck her parental indoctrination and have a quiet abortion (Alaska apparently doesn't require parental consent for teen abortions),she'd surely have been terrified the story would leak out and sully her mother's anti-abortion political reputation.

I feel sorry for the Palin kids. They're dealing with major family issues at the moment: worries about the safety of a brother heading to Iraq, a new sibling with Down's Syndrome, Bristol's pregnancy, all while being newly plunged into the spotlight of the national media. A good show of "family values" by Mom and Dad?

Do you really believe poor little Bristol HAD a choice? Even if she'd been willing to buck her parental indoctrination and have a quiet abortion (Alaska apparently doesn't require parental consent for teen abortions),she'd surely have been terrified the story would leak out and sully her mother's anti-abortion political reputation.

I feel sorry for the Palin kids. They're dealing with major family issues at the moment: worries about the safety of a brother heading to Iraq, a new sibling with Down's Syndrome, Bristol's pregnancy, all while being newly plunged into the spotlight of the national media. A good show of "family values" by Mom and Dad?

Well that's is - oncealawyer - Family Values. The GOP has rammed that down our throats for almost 10 years. This is what their family values are - and I'm sorry for Bristol and this situation - but everyone needs to know the ramifications and hypocrisy of the position this woman has taken vis-a-vis women's rights.

The GOP has clearly staked it's position now - We Hate Women and Think you are Dumb Enough to Fall for this.

I am embarrassed that so many here feel that it is our right to drag a 17 year old girl into national politics. I don't agree with Sarah Palin on much of anything, but I do believe that she has the right to raise her family as she sees fit. Whether or not this was truly Bristol's decision is not our business, and we will not really ever know.

It is fine to criticize abstinence only policies or pro-life policies or even family values platforms, but using a 17 year old girl, who is going through a very difficult time right now is just plain wrong.

To the poster who claimed that Sarah Palin being able to get pregnant is not something we want in a vice president....Go back to your cave and stop embarrassing yourself.

The double standard seems to be that the Republicans get to use her keeping the child and marrying the father as an issue but no one else gets to comment? It illustrates the hypocrisy of the party not the people who bring it up to point out Palin's own positions. The party of family values? Imagine if they were talking about Joe Biden's daughter. Is anyone else struck by the parallels to Jamie-Lyn Spears? And the holier than thou attitudes; the railing against evil Hollywood; her mother being castigated for the crime of bad motherhood. The hypocrisy is just as much the issue as accepting the vp position and allowing her daughter to become a punchline on late night talk shows.

I have been reading this story about Bristol Palin all weekend and have come to this conclusion. If the story that Trig is not Sarah Palin's baby is true, then why wouldn't she put this horrible rumor to rest by releasing her medical records and her birth records. Why would she choose to bring her daughter into the harsh light of the national media and expose her pregnancy. We do not need to know that this 17 year old is pregnant. My god who would not spare their child from this kind of scrutiny. I will believe that Trig is not Sarah's baby until her medical records have been released.

The Republican creed, as summed up by 18 year old Levi Johnston, Bristol's purported husband to be:

'I'm a f--kin' redneck who likes to snowboard and ride dirt bikes. But I live to play hockey. I like to go camping and hang out with the boys, do some fishing, shoot some s--t and just f--kin' chillin' I guess. Ya f--k with me I'll kick ass."

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/51459.html

What's missing is this -- can someone please explain to me how taking the focus to Bristol Palin helps Obama/Biden STRATEGICALLY in any way whatsoever? It distracts us from focusing on the fact that she's pro-secession, from the fact that McCain did a poor job of vetting, etc. We don't need this. The potential negatives are too high and there's just no reason to go here.

It's not about being scared -- it's about being stupid by not being careful about how we're controlling the media narrative. Leave the religious right on the sidelines. Not only that, but how about we follow the lead of our OWN CANDIDATES and support the strategy they're establishing?

Stop thinking about the personal battles you want to fight and start thinking about winning the presidency and securing a strong, Democratic majority. Separate the moral issues from this discussion altogether -- and please explain how any of this is SMART STRATEGY?

It was not the folks at TPM who dragged Bristol into the political limelight. It was her mother. The Palins are the ones who are showering her with praise for her so-called willingness to "have the baby and marry the father". It can hardly be expected that, after the dog and pony show, the rest of the us should sit by and say nothing. I don't know if she is really pregnant or not. Just how bad was the mono? Not bad enough to keep her down apparently. I say give it up not because it is bad form but because there is too much else going on. Whether she is or isn't, whether she marries him or not doesn't mean a whit. Are you counting how many of the press are being arrested at the RNC? Don't get distracted! Pay attention to what's important.

It was not the folks at TPM who dragged Bristol into the political limelight. It was her mother. The Palins are the ones who are publicly showering her with praise for her so-called willingness to "have the baby and marry the father". It can hardly be expected that, after the dog and pony show, the rest of the us should sit by and say nothing. I don't know if she is really pregnant or not. Just how bad was the mono? Not bad enough to keep her down apparently. I say give it up not because it is bad form but because there is too much else going on. Whether she is or isn't, whether she marries him or not doesn't mean a whit. Are you counting how many of the press are being arrested at the RNC? Don't get distracted! Pay attention to what's important.

It was not the folks at TPM who dragged Bristol into the political limelight. It was her mother. The Palins are the ones who are publicly showering her with praise for her so-called willingness to "have the baby and marry the father". It can hardly be expected that, after the dog and pony show, the rest of the us should sit by and say nothing. I don't know if she is really pregnant or not. Just how bad was the mono? Not bad enough to keep her down apparently. I say give it up not because it is bad form but because there is too much else going on. Whether she is or isn't, whether she marries him or not doesn't mean a whit. Are you counting how many of the press are being arrested at the RNC? Don't get distracted! Pay attention to what's important.

It was not the folks at TPM who dragged Bristol into the political limelight. It was her mother. The Palins are the ones who are publicly showering her with praise for her so-called willingness to "have the baby and marry the father", exploiting her for their her own political gain. It can hardly be expected that, after the dog and pony show, the rest of us should sit by and say nothing. I don't know if she is really pregnant or not. Just how bad was the mono? Not bad enough to keep her down apparently. I say give it up not because it is bad form but because there is too much else going on. Whether she is or isn't, whether she marries him or not doesn't mean a whit. Are you counting how many of the press are being arrested at the RNC? Don't get distracted! Pay attention to what's important.

I like the nickname Bristol is getting: The Juno of Juneau.

It was my understanding that Lyda Green (Alaska Senate President and also of Wasilla) was effectively retiring, (not running for re-election) because she felt Palin had played politics with an abortion bill.

She flat out accused Palin of shelving the bill to avoid distraction whilst Palin pursued her Natural Gas Pipeline legislation.

Here is the story from the Anchorage Daily News.

"Green pressures Palin on abortion"

http://community.adn.com/node/126122

It was my understanding that Lyda Green (Alaska Senate President and also of Wasilla) was effectively retiring, (not running for re-election) because she felt Palin had played politics with an abortion bill.

She flat out accused Palin of shelving the bill to avoid distraction whilst Palin pursued her Natural Gas Pipeline legislation.

Here is the story from the Anchorage Daily News.

"Green pressures Palin on abortion"

http://community.adn.com/node/126122

It was my understanding that Lyda Green (Alaska Senate President and also of Wasilla) was effectively retiring, (not running for re-election) because she felt Palin had played politics with an abortion bill.

She flat out accused Palin of shelving the bill to avoid distraction whilst Palin pursued her Natural Gas Pipeline legislation.

Here is the story from the Anchorage Daily News.

"Green pressures Palin on abortion"

http://community.adn.com/node/126122

sorry sorry sorry sorry
got bit by the infernal error troll