Letters to the Editor - Lubbock Online.com Teen Mom Article

Published: Friday, July 17, 1998








Teen Mom Article

Re: The letter, "Teen Mom Graduate" (A-J, 7-9).

Apparently, the letter writer just looked at the pictures but didn't read the article (not an unlikely scenario, since it appears she informs herself about the world through trash TV, which is full of pictures but doesn't require thought).

Nothing in the article indicates that anyone "encouraged" Brenda to get pregnant while still in school or "think it's perfectly OK to do so."

The opposite was made clear: "The worst thing was knowing I'd let everyone down - my parents, my brothers and sisters." Does this sound like a family who encouraged a high school junior to have a baby?

The article reported on the serious problems teen mothers and their children face - the tears, shame, shock, fear, worries about people's attitudes, abandonment of friends.

Yes, Brenda needed help, and she credits her parents and teachers. They could have kicked her out but they knew that love is always a better choice than judgment, criticism and ostracism.

The letter writer missed the point. In spite of teen pregnancy, which occurs in the best of families, young unmarried mothers can rise above difficulties to give themselves and their children a better chance. (Left unsaid is that young unmarried fathers are rarely even chastened, much less made responsible, for their actions.)

If even one pregnant teen is encouraged by the article to stay in school and strive for success, the author and The A-J will have done a valuable service. JULIA KVETON APODACA, Austin

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