The Gloucester 17? Thank "Juno"

 By Jason Lovelace

Key Scripture:

2nd Timothy 3.1-5 – 1This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

 

Proverbs 6.12-19 – 12A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.  13He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; 14Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.  15Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.  16These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

 

Proverbs 30.11-14 – 11There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.  12There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.  13There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.  14There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.

 

Proverbs 30.17 – The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

 

Ecclesiastes 8.11 – Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

 

Probably everyone by now has heard of the news story concerning Gloucester High School, in Gloucester, Massachusetts.  Seventeen girls, none older than 16 years of age, reportedly made a pact to get pregnant and have babies, one of the girls even becoming pregnant by a homeless man.  Many people are wondering both in print and in the audio and visual media, how this could happen.  Considering the current climate and how sex is taken so casually, a better question is how could anyone not see this coming? 

 

Sex Is Not For Kids!!!

We hear in the media today much about teens and sex.  It seems that anytime these two topics are brought up, the overriding and prevailing mantra is that “Teens are going to have sex, so why not help them do it safely?”  The basic premise of this automatically alludes and implies that each and every teenager in the USA today, and even elsewhere in the world, are basically brainless hormone sacks that have no control over their bodies, desires, nor appetites, especially with regards to sex.  This attitude also ignores the glaring facts that abstinence-based sex education that shows all the statistics, facts, and data about teenage pregnancy and the consequences of having an abortion actually works, and, in areas where this has been implemented, pregnancies among teens has actually dropped.  The basic underlying fact is that sex and sexual activity are not for children, for kids.  God’s plan for sex and sexual activity, clearly laid out in the Bible, is designed for two people who are ready, willing, and able to commit to a lifetime with each other in a marriage relationship.  The Bible further warns people against undertaking and becoming involved in sexual activity when not in the bounds of a marriage.  Basically, folks, sex is not for kids, and to teach, preach, and in any other way imply that teens are too animalistic to control themselves and that they are going to have sex, regardless of what parents or mentors teach is at best misguided, at worst, sinister. 

 

“’Safe’ Sex” Really Isn’t

We hear, as well, in the media, about how “safe sex” works, and how people, if they are going to engage in sex, should do it “safely”.  This alleged “safe sex” is when one or both of the sex partners uses some form of contraception, to insure that a pregnancy will not occur or an STD transmitted.  The problem with this premise is that contraceptives are neither fail-safe nor 100% effective against either.  One of the girls from Gloucester admitted on television that she and her 20-year-old boyfriend were using contraceptives, yet she became pregnant anyway.  Further, medical and scientific studies have shown that the AIDS virus (HIV) is so small that it can pass through microscopic holes in condoms.  Further, many girls and women throughout the United States have admitted to becoming pregnant despite their boyfriends using condoms at the time of intercourse.  “’Safe’ Sex” really isn’t.  The only real, true form of safe sex is abstinence.

 

The Issue At Hand

The movie Juno is a story about a young, high school girl who becomes pregnant by a boy at her high school with whom she has casual, uncommitted sex.  Upon revealing her pregnancy to her parents, the protagonist talks about how its “totally cool, though” because she has found a couple that is willing to adopt her baby when it is born.  Upon hearing that their daughter is pregnant, her parents – rather than expressing anger, displeasure, or disappointment with her – dismiss her, and question themselves instead.  Along with the movie Knocked Up, Juno is a move that, rather than casting a negative shadow on single motherhood and teenage pregnancy, portrays the situation as positive, the single mother (Juno [Ellen Page]) as heroic and strong, and the consequences of teenage sexual activity and the difficulties of single motherhood non-existent.  Further, it shows a total absence of parental authority and control, with the protagonist of the story basically flitting through her parents’ control and thumbing her nose at their authority, all the while desiring their wisdom and “acceptance” of her situation.  What makes this movie worse (though, not by much) than Knocked Up is that Juno focuses in on High School girls and teenagers, glamorizing single motherhood and teenage pregnancy as something to be desired, accepted, and a choice that is intelligent, courageous, and wonderful.  The truth of teenage pregnancy is quite in stark contrast with its portrayal by Diablo Cody and her movie Juno.  Here are a few statistics concerning teenage pregnancy:

l  Teen childbearing in the United States costs taxpayers (federal, state, and local) at least $9.1 billion, according to a 2006 report by Saul Hoffman, Ph.D. and published by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Most of the costs of teen childbearing are associated with negative consequences for the children of teen mothers, including increased costs for health care, foster care, and incarceration.

l  Teenage mothers are less likely to gain adequate weight during their pregnancy, leading to low birthweight. Low birth weight is associated with several infant and childhood disorders and a higher rate of infant mortality. Low birth weight babies are more likely to have organs that are not fully developed, which can result in complications, such as bleeding in the brain, respiratory distress syndrome, and intestinal problems.

l  Teenage mothers have a higher rate of poor eating habits than older women and are less likely to take recommended daily prenatal multivitamins to maintain adequate nutrition during pregnancy. Teens also are more likely to smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, or take drugs during pregnancy, which can cause health problems for the baby.

l  Teenage mothers receive regular prenatal care less often than older women. Prenatal care is essential for monitoring the growth of the fetus and the health of the mother. During prenatal care, medical professionals provide important information about good nutrition and about other ways to ensure a healthy pregnancy. According to the American Medical Association (AMA), babies born to women who do not have regular prenatal care are 4 times more likely to die before the age of 1 year.

l  Teen mothers are more likely than mothers over age 20 to give birth prematurely (before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy). Between 2002 and 2004, preterm birth rates averaged 14.3 percent for women under age 20 compared to 11.7 percent for women ages 20 to 29 (4). Babies born too soon face an increased risk of newborn health problems, long-term disabilities and even death.

l  Teenage births are associated with lower annual income for the mother. Eighty percent of teen mothers must rely on welfare at some point:  more than 75 percent of all unmarried teen mothers go on welfare within five years of the birth of their first child

l  Teenage mothers are more likely to drop out of school. Only about one-third of teen mothers obtain a high school diploma.

l  Teenage pregnancies are associated with increased rates of alcohol and substance abuse, lower educational level, and reduced earning potential in teen fathers.

l  Children born to teenage mothers are less likely to receive proper nutrition, health care, and cognitive and social stimulation. As a result, they are at risk for lower academic achievement.

l  Children born to teenage mothers are at increased risk for abuse and neglect.

l  Boys born to teenage mothers are 13% more likely to be incarcerated later in life.

l  Girls born to teenage mothers are 22% more likely to become teenage mothers themselves.

l  25% of teenage girls who give birth have another baby within 2 years.  The children of teenage mothers are more likely to perform poorly in school. (Maynard, R.A., Ed., 1996. Kids Having Kids: A Robin Hood Foundation Special Report on the Costs of Adolescent Childbearing, New York: Robin Hood Foundation.)

 

l  Babies of teenage mothers are more likely to die in the first year of life than babies of women in their twenties and thirties.  The risk is highest for babies of the mothers under age 15. In 2004, 17.1 out of every 1,000 babies of women under age 15 died, compared to 6.8 per 1,000 for babies of women of all ages (10).

 

l  About 78 percent of children born to an unmarried teenage high-school dropout live in poverty, compared to 9 percent of children born to women over age 20 who are married and high school graduates. 

 

l  A child born to a teenage mother is 50 percent more likely to repeat a grade in school and is more likely to perform poorly on standardized tests and drop out before finishing high school.

 

l  A teenage mother may become financially dependent on her family or on public assistance.

 

l  From 2000 to 2002, an average 7 percent of mothers aged 15 to 19 years received late or no prenatal care (compared to 3.8 percent for all ages).

 

l  A teenage mother is at greater risk than women over age 20 for pregnancy complications, such as premature labor, anemia and high blood pressure. These risks are even greater for teens who are under 15 years old.

 

l  In federal fiscal year 1996—the year for which the most recent data is available—the federal government spent over $38.0 billion to provide services and support to families that began with a birth to a teen. This includes families headed by adult females who were teenagers when they had their first child.

 

l  Teenage marriages have a much greater chance of ending in divorce.

 

l  Teenage pregnancies are associated with an increased rate of delinquent behaviors in the fathers, including alcohol and substance abuse, lower educational level, and reduced earning potential.

 

The real tragedy of movies like Juno is that these statistics, these consequences of teenage pregnancy are regularly covered-up and effectively ignored.  Instead, what we see from movies, media, and television is glamour, heroism, and strength in the teenage mother, when, in reality, the stats listed above show that teenage pregnancy and teenage motherhood.  Movies like Juno and Knocked Up that do this sort of cover-up, showing a cavalier attitude and a laissez-faire mindset with regards to the stark realities to teenage pregnancy, border on criminal.  This aspect is even truer when we see the reaction of society at large, and how these movies and their portrayals have already begun to affect culture and society at large, and the current impact.

 

The Consequences to Society

Prior to Juno opening on December 5th, 2007, the movie had received wide acclaim from the following, earning awards and nominations at several:  Toronto International Film Festival, Austin Film Festival, Rome Film Feast, London Film Festival, Bahamas International Film Festival, St. Louis International Film Festival, Stockholm International Film Festival, International Thessaloniki Film Festival, Gijón International Film Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival and the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Since its opening, it has received nearly $230 million in earnings, as well as receiving four nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, including nomination for Best Picture of the Year, and Best Actress.  Many in the media have also given highly favorable reactions and criticisms of Juno, hailing it as groundbreaking, gripping, and that the protagonist was portrayed as “cool” and “intelligent.  However, the true consequences of Juno are far more dubious, devious, and far-reaching.  A scant six months after Juno opened, the story of the Gloucester teen pregnancy pact broke. On Wednesday, June 17th, 2008, Kathleen Kingsbury wrote about seventeen teenagers who’d become pregnant in the Massachusetts town of Gloucester, north of Boston.  In her story, Ms. Kingsbury stated directly that the seventeen girls in question had made a pact to become pregnant.  She further related that many of the teen girls (none of whom are older than 16), after being examined by the school nurse and doctor at the school’s in-house clinic were disappointed at not becoming pregnant, and that those who did test positive gave each other high fives.  Further, Ms. Kingsbury relates how these teens and their parents (rather than punishing their daughters) threw baby showers for one another.  Even worse, after administering some 150 pregnancy tests, the school clinic’s nurse and medical director-doctor began advocating the prescription of contraceptives regardless of parental consent.  Is it just coincidence that this story broke barely over six months after Juno opened in theaters?  Could it be just chance that this story came of age a mere four months after Juno was so widely praised and received by the Golden Globes and Oscars?  Is there something worse, far worse, ahead for the United States of America, thanks to movies like Juno, Knocked Up, and Waitress (a movie encouraging divorce) becoming so popular and well-received, let alone even being made?

 

Just the Tip of the Iceberg

The Scripture references for today show what society will be like in the end times, and for a society that is in the crosshairs for God’s Judgment to be executed against a society, a nation, or a people.  In the passage from 2nd Timothy, we see what the attitudes of people will be like, and that is certainly the case with regards to the seventeen girls in particular, and society in the United States in general.  The passages from Proverbs show what young people become when there are no parental controls, no parental discipline leveled for mistakes and poor choices.  Ecclesiastes speaks of evil rising and growing because of execution of sentence not being carried out swiftly, and in the United States, with regards to sex, sexual intercourse, and sexual relationships, there is little to no consequence shown, despite the obvious statistics and social data that show otherwise.  It is believed by this writer, as he wrote when Juno first released and was nominated for the Oscars, that we, as a culture in the United States of America, are just seeing the tip of the iceberg with regards to teenage pregnancy.  Even if the seventeen teens at Gloucester High didn’t have a pact, the glaring fact is that this year saw more than four times more pregnancies among its student population than last year:  in 2007, there were just four pregnancies at Gloucester High; this year, seventeen – a rise of more than 400% in just one year!  Friends, readers, it will only get worse before it gets better.  God has promised in his word that he will exact justice and judgment on societies that so blatantly cross his will and his word, and, ultimately, Himself. 

 

Who’s REALLY to Blame?

Ultimately, the real culprit in this situation is not Juno.  It is neither Ellen Page nor Diablo Cody, nor is it the producers and directors of Knocked Up, Waitress, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, or any other movie or actor/actress.  Ultimately, it is not the parents of the seventeen girls who failed so horribly in their parental responsibilities, nor really is it the seventeen girls themselves.  The real culprit in this situation is the prevailing attitude towards the god of this age: self.  We as a culture have preached for decades that self is to be #1.  God has been replaced by the idol of self.  We want what we want when we want it, and to the blazes be the consequences, problems, and/or negative factors on society.  If it feels good to us, if it looks good to us, if it’s fun, cool, and makes us happy, we want it, we want it now, and we want it our way.  Is this not the preaching of the media towards society at large?  Have television serials such as Sex and the City, Ally McBeal, Friends, Seinfeld, Beverly Hills 90210, and others which portray sex as casual, to be accepted with no conditions, and relationships no different than a flitting butterfly not taught us that we can have sex any way that we want it, at any age, and, strikingly, anywhere we please?  Have not heard from commercial ads on TV, movies, Radio, and the Print Media to “Have it your way, right away”, “Obey your thirst”, “Just Do It”?  Self has been placed on the throne of US Society ever since God was dismissed from Public School n the 1960s, and we are, with this situation in Gloucester Massachusetts, just beginning to reap what we have sown.  This situation with the Pregnancy Pact Seventeen is just the first fruits and the bumper crop to be offered to the god of self.  The full harvest has yet to come, and when it does, this writer wonders what reception the United States will give it?

 

Conclusion – To End Pregnancy Pacts Among Teens, We MUST Teach Truth!

Parents, it is up to you!  Family, no-one can do it as good as you can!  We must teach the truth, the consequences, and the joys – yes, the JOYS – of sex and sexual relationships.  People, sex was not created to be a humiliation to be a shameful thing, to be a bane, nor was it created to hurt, cause pain or suffering:  God created sex as the ultimate act of love between a committed man and woman in a marriage relationship.  We can only have a healthy society, and good, upstanding young people, if we teach them the truth.  The truth is, it is always, ALWAYS best to wait until after marriage to have sex.  Statistics prove this, society shows this, and nations that have healthy families tend to stand stronger and longer.  So long as we keep producing and, more importantly watching, movies like Juno, Knocked Up, and TV Serials like Sex and the City, we as a society will continue to suffer the consequences of teenage pregnancy, single motherhood, and delinquent daddies.  Until we teach that the Idol of Self must be knocked off of the throne, and replace with The Living God, we will continue to see more and more teen pregnancy pacts and more and more single, teenage mothers.  We cannot live like hell and expect to have heaven-on-earth.  Finally, anyone who has had a baby as a teen or a single mother is not beyond the redemptive, redeeming grace of Jesus Christ.  If this is you, reader, not only does Jesus Christ await to receive you, forgive you, and wash you clean of your sins by his precious blood, but also he awaits to help you!  Yes, Jesus Christ will help you raise your child the right way, and if you accept him as Saviour and Lord, you can avoid becoming a statistic!  He will lead you to places that will help you get on your feet, complete your education, and give you hope and a future.  Trust in Jesus Christ today!

 

Prayer – Heavenly Father, a tragedy:  seventeen teenage girls have just made their futures more grim, and have brought children into the world who will have very high odds stacked against them.  But despite this, Lord, we pray for their well-being, we pray for a safe entry into the world for these seventeen little ones, that are so precious in Thy sight.  We pray for the families, Father, that they’d teach these youhng girls about responsibility, and more importantly, Lord, we pray for their Salvation through the Blood and Sacrifice of Jesus Christ!  We Pray for American Society at large, Father, that we would learn to shun the vain and profane, to cease watching moves that degrade and destroy, like Juno and other such films.  We pray that Americans – yea, society in the world at large – would shun such TV shows as Sex and the City, and flee them like fleeing a house fire.  We pray, Father, for any young lady who may read this and be discouraged, that she will come to know you as Saviour and Lord, that she will receive the hope, the good future, and the love that you have for her.  We pray for any teenage Dad that may read this, and we pray for salvation for him, as well, and that he’d do what is right, and become the father to his child that you want him to be.  We pray these things in Jesus’ Precious Name, Amen.

 

Verse to Remember:

“…him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

– John 6.37

 

èStatistics and information courtesy of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy (www.thenationalcampaign.org), Women’s Health Channel (www.womenshealthchannel.com), The Virginia Department of Health (www.vahealth.org), The March of Dimes (www.marchofdimes.com), Rip and Roll.com (www.ripnroll.com), Web Pregnancy (www.webpregnancy.com), and Advocates for Youth (www.advocatesforyouth.org); further resources from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipeida.org), Time Magazine (www.time.com)...

è If you are a teenager and pregnant, or have a pregnant girlfriend, there is help.  Please contact any of these following organizations:

- Mary’s Shelter (www.teenshelter.org)

- City Union Mission (www.cumission.org)

- The Light House (www.lighthousekc.org)

- College Church of the Nazarene (www.collegechurch.com)

- Westside Church of the Nazarene (www.olathewestside.org)

- The Kansas City Rescue Mission (www.kcrm.org)

- The Salvation Army (www.salvationarmyusa.org)

- Faith Journey Church of the Nazarene (www.faithjourneychurch.com)

- My Father’s House Compassionate Ministries (www.my-fathers-house.com)

- The ARK of Salvation - 355 Georgia Ave., Atlanta, GA 30312 USA

Phone: 404-635-0400 Fax: 404-696-2480

(www.theonlineword.com, www.airjesus.com)

- New Hope on the Plains - 613 W. Cedar P.O. Box 1534, Dodge City, KS 67801

- Crossroads of the Rockies - Denver, CO CrossRoadsoftheR@Quest.Net (303) 922-8772

- Bethel Institute of Family Services North Haledon, NJ hmchurch@optonline.net (973) 427-3255

- Beulah Community Development Corporation Brooklyn, NY (718) 756-2310

- Bronx Bethany Community Corporation Bronx, NY (718) 515-4633

- Charles Pickering Educational Institute Brooklyn, NY (718) 856-7464

- Central City Community Outreach Los Angeles, CA info@lacentralcity.org (213) 689-1766

- Children of the Shepherd Hollywood, CA (323) 462-1447

- Compassionate Heart Learning Center Altadena, CA seetalbird@juno.com (213) 673-4837

- Narrow Gate Ministries Montebello, CA montnazarene@earthlink.net (323) 721-5020

- P F Bresee Foundation Los Angeles, CA info@bresee.org (213) 387-2822

- HOPE CITY Empowerment CENTER Brooklyn, NY grace.hcec@verizon.net (718) 857-5698

- Neighborhood Multi Service Center Far Rockaway, NY lslmullings@aol.com (718) 327-5242

- United Relief Association Valley Stream, NY (718) 469-9029