THE GLOUCESTER 17: CRIME OR COVER-UP?

biggest story to hit Gloucester since The Perfect Storm

by: bob parks | published: 06 27, 2008

I’m not sure who to believe with this whole Gloucester High School girls-plan to get pregnant together thing. But one thing’s for sure; there are very few acting like adults here.

First we have 17 young girls, all under the age of 16 getting pregnant fairly close together. With some, it’s not that big a deal because in Massachusetts the age of consent is 16. I say it’s not that big a deal only because, with those 16-year-olds, statutory rape is not applicable here.

It IS a big deal because, as happy as some of these girls reportedly were because they did get knocked up, their lives (as well as those around them) are screwed.

These young girls must think having babies is a lot of fun. Yes they’re cute, but as many of us adults know, raising babies that turn into toddlers that turn into young children that turn into teenagers are one of those aspects of life that turn your hair grey. What’s also unfortunate is how comfortable we, as a society, make it for young girls to have babies before they are legally allowed to drive.

Gloucester High School has day care centers for the babies of their students. Hardly the right message when we’re all trying to tell young teens that screwing around has adverse consequences on their lives. Despite the ongoing “conversation” the community of Gloucester will have in the coming weeks and months, the removal of these day care centers will be off the table.

Massachusetts is one of those states that require taxpayers to pick up the tab when it comes to the misbehavior of some of its citizens.

Here I go sounding like an oldhead again.

When we were growing up, there was no talk of school staff giving out contraceptives to students without parental permission. There were no day care centers in schools to support those who strayed. Getting pregnant was taboo. I personally knew of no students who got pregnant during my 12 years of grade school. It just wasn’t done. Why? Because there was fear and loathing.

It was well-known that a boy getting a girl pregnant would be yanked out of school to get a job to support that baby. That boy was also said to be at physical risk from both his and the girl’s father. A girl who got pregnant would be yanked out of school to take care of that baby. There were no support mechanisms in the schools. You got pregnant; your life (as you hoped it would be) was over. That was enough for most of us not to do something we knew was wrong.

In listening to the adults in the equation, I can understand why the teen girls and boys are so screwed up.

During a press conference on Monday June 23rd, the mayor of Gloucester sought to clear up the controversy if a “pact” (reported initially by Time Magazine) between the 17 had indeed been made.

Any planned blood-oath bond to become pregnant — there is absolutely no evidence of.
— Mayor Carolyn Kirk, after a closed-door meeting with city, school and health officials

Maybe she missed something, but when there are reports of young girls being bummed out (after several visits to the school’s health facilities) at not being pregnant, that should have raised as much of a red flag as having some of those same girls being elated and high-fiving each other upon receiving news of the more desired result.

The original mention of a “pact” was given to Time Magazine by Gloucester High School Principal Joseph Sullivan, who has apparently dropped off the planet since his original interview where he said the girls "made a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together." Mayor Kirk, when asked about the conflicts in stories by city and school officials and Sullivan, she responded that he was "foggy in his memory" when it comes to a pact. "When pressed, his memory failed."

Here we have the biggest story to hit Gloucester since The Perfect Storm and a principal player (pardon the pun) is truant.

Public school districts are notorious for putting its best face forward, as they are need students (revenue) to stay fiscally afloat. Negative incidents are swept under the rug whenever possible. That said, you have a principal here who says there was a “pact” of young girls getting pregnant, who is now unavailable for comment, and a group of local politicians who claim the agreement never happened.

If that’s the case, someone’s not telling the truth.

When I was in high school, there were girls that talked about having kids here. He’s (Sullivan) right in letting everyone know what’s going on. It’s an issue that needs to be addressed.
— Unnamed former Gloucester high school student, Fox 25 News report

That student said she supports Principal Sullivan, and she’s not alone in the counter to the officials’ claim that no “pact” existed….

A number of the girls who came in to have pregnancy tests were glad to hear they tested positive, and to me, one of the more troubling points, really disappointed when their tests came back negative.
— Ray Lamont, Gloucester Daily Times Editor

Even more troubling is that now, instead of the shame and embarrassment that pushed all involved into a cave, some of the pregnant teens actually think they’re celebrities.

There was definitely no pact. There was a group of girls who decided that they were gonna – they were already pregnant before they decided — that they were going to help each other with their kids so they could finish school and raise their kids together. To do the right thing was their decision, not get pregnant, like as a group.
— Lindsay Oliver, pregnant Gloucester teen on Good Morning America, 6/24/08

Obviously Ms. Oliver is too young to understand the sophistry in her words where the pregnant teens, who weren’t a part of a pact, collectively decided to “do the right thing”. It would appear their wisdom came a little late. It was hard to watch this giddy young girl, seemingly intoxicated by her new-found fame and self-importance.

Incidentally, when contacted by a Fox News producer, another of the teen girls actually queried about getting paid for her interview.

Gloucester officials are still undecided if they should attempt to charge those who (including a 24-year-old homeless man) impregnated the girls with statutory rape. As some of the sperm donors were under 16 themselves, it may be a tough one to prosecute.

But some things are abundantly clear.

Until getting pregnant at a young age is given the negative stigma it had years ago, we’ll have more Gloucesters, especially now that some of the girls who reportedly had “self esteem” issues are now internationally cool. Until young parents can’t pass the buck on to the rest of us to pay to support their children, more won’t think twice about seeking that “unconditional love” at our expense.

Until school districts stop circumventing parental authority (right in front of our kids) and giving them options of contraceptives (and in some states abortions) without parental knowledge or consent, kids will be sent the wrong message. Having sex is something we know you’ll do, and if a pregnancy happens, come to us; not your parents.

And if the girls end up with babies, it’s only then where the parents are forced to assume the responsibility the teens never showed. Just a few years from freedom from these young people, their parents will be saddled with having to watch the baby while the girl goes to school, goes out on Friday and Saturday night, does her homework, or just doesn’t feel like getting up to change that diaper.

Not once did any of those girls talk about who was going to buy their baby’s formula or clothes or Huggies. Not once did any of those girls talk about who was going to pay for anything involving their babies because they, themselves, are children. They know nothing about paying bills, thus they aren’t smart enough to be mothers.

The boys shouldn’t be let off the hook either. All who knocked up these girls should be yanked out of school so they can get a job. These new “families” shouldn’t be a burden to the existing families or society. These young people made the decision, and unfortunately for them, they need to pay for them.

Hopefully by sending that kind of message, teens would think twice before deciding (collectively or not) that having babies at age 16 or below is the right thing to do. Politicians and school administrators blaming the pregnancies on budget cuts or “No Child Left Behind” is lame. The 16-or-belows blaming a lack of jobs in the area, thus few future options, is also lame. They’ll soon realize just how fewer their options are now.

Then again, we are talking about Massachusetts where many believe it’s our duty as residents to understand what self esteem issues will lead teens to do.

Maybe if they let parents be parents years ago, instead of wrenching that duty out of our hands, we wouldn’t be talking about 17 sets of lives that statistically are destined for taxpayer dependency. Let’s talk about their self esteem five years from now.

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