Jan 25, 2010
The Pregnancy Pact Movie Online Buzz
Written under: Human Interest, Internet, LifestyleThere is an online buzz regarding the movie The Pregnancy Pact which showed in Lifetime last night. This is a truly controversial movie
The Pregnancy Pact online buzz comes from the fact that this movie is based on real life events that shocked the whole nation in 2008. Time magazine published an article about 17 teenage girls who made a pact to get pregnant in Gloucester, MA.
Many can’t believe that such a pact exists but as confirmed by the movie which showed in Lifetime last night, the Pregnancy Pact is very real – but the film leaves a lot of open questions for the audience.
Why did the girls made the pact? What happened to them? Where are they now?
I watched the movie and thought it had many lessons from the teen’s standpoint, to the parent’s, to the community.
I had not even heard of the story, or movie until someone mentioned it to me last Thursday. Then stumbled onto it Saturday night and realized this was what was mentioned.
I thought it was well presented. Even though there was no mention of religious affiliation that I saw or heard, it portrayed the characters moral values very wisely.
I work with Teen parents, and I am an example of a successful teen parent. My theory is, as long as you have teen agers, there will be teen pregnancy. Ultimately, the teen has to make the choice, and with parents and community support, factual information provided, and resources made available to the teen, each will guide the teen in hopefully making the healthiest choice.
I’m a 23 year old male and lifelong native of Gloucester MA. Up until this point our claims-to-fame were Gorton’s and the Perfect Storm. Unfortunately gaining national notoriety for a large group of teens intentionally getting pregnant has completely overshadowed anything else Gloucester has to offer, and myself and many of the other residents are now asked to offer some sort of explanation for the actions of people in our community when there really is no explanation to be had.
A bunch of teens essentially chose to ignore the long-term responsibility of child-rearing for the short term “benefit” of having a child as an accessory. In this world of consumerism, of UGGs and Iphones, a few girls got the idea that a child would be a great new addition to their wardrobe. By either choosing to not use contraceptives with their partners or by intentionally finding someone who would impregnate them they created their “pact.” A large debate amongst myself and my contemporaries is whether or not ALL of those girls really had such a pact or if Time and Lifetime hashed together all the accidental pregnancies with the “pact girls” to push copies and ratings. I can’t argue definitively on that aspect so it is just speculation.
These girls believed that their families, and worse, the government would handle most of the responsibilities and finances involved in raising a child. This could amount to one of the most selfish acts a human could be capable of doing, to create a new life for perceived short-term gain and making everyone else deal with the consequences. I sincerely hope that any girl who does this has a rude awakening from this misguided dream and is forced to responsibly raise a child like a real parent.
As far as the initial author’s questions of what happened to these girls and where they are now, what do you expect? A 15-18 year old girl in a middle class family who births a child isn’t going anywhere geographically soon and will be struggling financially without a great deal of assistance, which they are likely not getting from their partner if they have one, and certainly not getting if they have no partner. Their parents are likely footing the bill of this incredibly foolish and selfish action and trying to provide for a new and unplanned addition to their household.
I understand the want to raise awareness about things like this. Teens should not make decisions like these. Ever. My city is tarnished by this story. They might as well replace the wheel that the famous “Man at the Wheel” has with a baby stroller at this point. This story should be a parable, told without names, told in as discouraging a way as possible to prevent this from happening here or anywhere. Of all the information that Lifetime felt pertinent to include next to the title it was simply the names of the actresses in the movie. How about a message about not being a teen parent and just putting the actresses names on the bottom and in the credits? No disrespect to the actresses but they roll credits at the end of a movie for a reason and the educational nature of this story is at least in part lost out to the entertainment factor of this “production.” But then again I’m a guy and because of that according to Lifetime I’ll likely at best be a disconnected father who doesn’t take the time off from drinking and slapping my wife to realize my daughter is being serially raped by the male swim coach. That is, if I’m not busy knocking up girls around town so they can get their little tyke all the cutest new booties and hats that match their outfits!
Someone please give me my city back!
I like the movie, it showed a real life situation with real consequences, and each girl had their own ending, some good some bad. There are a lot of lessons given in this movie. i hope some teenage girl watched this movie and changed her mind.