I find Gov. Palin's announcement that 17-year-old daughter Bristol is pregnant and will have the baby and marry a little disturbing. Not the pregnant part, or even the I'm-havin-my-baby part. The marriage part.
Earlier this year I did a story on married sexuality where I spoke of the incredible change in the last 40 years in the age at which people get married. Premarital sex is a norm, nearly–the vast majority of Americans experience it. And marriage has gotten put off as a result. Seven years later on average, as I recall, since the 1960s. This study at the Kinsey Institute site speaks of "long term and massive" changes in the character of premarital sexual activity, says that the link between marriage and sexuality has become "unraveled."
Most people seem to think this is a good thing with respect to teenagers, young people. They are learning about sexual compatibility, learning about the difference between sex and love, learning who they are. You don't have to be a free spirit like me to say such things.
I understand that Bristol's going to keep this baby. Even if she supports abortion rights, it would be hard for her to separate herself from the ideology of her family under the political circumstances, and maybe they have a legal right at her age to assert that claim… What I find disturbing is the suggestion that this teenager is being forced into marriage with some guy she barely knows because she… oh my god! had sex. How long's that marriage going to last? Who's this good for? There are plenty of other creative options to deal with an unwanted pregnancy, including Sarah and Todd helping to raise it…
More evidence that Palin is a primitive who shouldn't be this close to the White House.
