Bristol Palin is now a spokesperson for abstinence through the Candie’s Foundation, you can read about that here. But that article led me to an ad they did before–which I thought was kinda funny.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUL0sEr1Yfo]
by 
Ahh! The babies are coming! THE BABIES ARE COMING!
I can’t help but think that this video contributes to the idea that unplanned pregnancy is the biggest disaster that could ever befall anyone, ever. Not that it isn’t a big deal…but do notice that the message here is “you can’t handle a baby,” and the message of abortion providers is “you can’t handle a baby”….
Upon further thought, most teens are not in a good position *to* handle a baby, and before having sex is a better time to consider that than after conceiving a child…but still, the overall vibe of this ad campaign is “Babies are bad. VERY BAD. Be afraid!” and I just don’t think that’s a healthy message to send. Abstinence, yes, chastity, absolutely, but “babies are bad and a source of fear,” not so much.
I thought the ad showed how before sex is a good time to think about consequences. And holding up a baby is a good visual way to, er, remind. Plus it’s funny the way she leaps into the car like that. But the reality is that most of the serious negative consequences of having sex super early are not physical or tangible. Perhaps why for a light hearted ad they couldn’t use those.
Heather, I agree with you. It’s very awkward to emphasize all the bad points of teen parenthood without making abortion sound like an easy way out.
Personally, I don’t think teen parenthood is that big a deal–at least, it shouldn’t be. There’s been quite a bit of research that suggests that a lot of the negative stereotypes we have of teen mothers (high school dropouts forever on welfare) is largely false and that teen mothers’ economic outcomes have much more to do with the social class they’re from than the fact that they’re mothers (i.e., the poor stay poor and the middle class stay middle class regardless of when/if they have kids). That certainly seems to be the case among the teen/former teen mothers I’ve met.
On the other hand, I’m not wild about teens leaping into bed with each other just because it’s become more or less socially acceptable to do so. Our culture holds teens to a fairly low standard of maturity and a lot of them are not ready for sex, let alone parenthood.
But I agree with Andrea that it’s a cute ad. And at least is shows an actual baby rather than alluding to a more easily disposed-of pregnancy.
I think teen parenthood is a big deal, because while there may not be as many teenage mothers on welfare as people think, most teenagers aren’t at a stage of their lives to be good parents. Plus, I’m a big advocate of people waiting to get married and/or have kids until they’ve gotten the bulk of their formal education completed. It’s hard to have time for both your sobbing toddler and your European History exam and give both the time and attention they deserve.
In an ideal world, of course, all pregnancies would be wanted, planned, and perfectly timed. But I’ve lost track of the “surprise” babies I know born to well-educated women well into their twenties and thirties. If sophisticated adults can’t always plan their pregnancies, I doubt that the teen pregnancy will ever go away completely (though here in the US, at least, it’s been in slow but steady decline for some time). When teens get the message that pregnancy is the WORST possible thing that could happen, that a baby will ruin their lives, that they will be poor and outcast forever, then of course they will seek abortions. Why wouldn’t they?
If, on the other hand, they get a more positive message, that it’s maybe not ideal timing but that their lives aren’t over, that they aren’t the first ones to go through this, that they can have their babies and achieve other goals, then abortion becomes much less likely.