News-Record.com

I honestly don't think the issue of her 17-year-old daughter's pregnancy ought to be a big deal in Sarah Palin's quest for the vice presidency.

Given the inexact science of raising teenagers, stuff can and does happen, no matter how good a parent you are.

But Palin's and her husband Todd's prepared statement about the matter does raise more than a small concern.

"We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us," that statement says.

"Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with the news as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents.

"As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows that she has our unconditional love and support.

"Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. "

Well said. There is love, respect and support in those words. But nowhere is there any mention of this being a mistake that young people - rich and poor, black and white, Republican and Democrat -- should avoid.

I don't mean that in any judgmental, holier-than-thou, fire-and-brimstone vein - just some acknowledgment that teen pregnancy, plainly and simply, isn't OK.

And that having unprotected sex is not only unwise but dangerous and possibly even fatal.

To simply say, as some have, that teenagers will be teenagers -- and that this story connects everyday people to the Palins and makes them all the more appealing to undecided voters -- is hardly enough.

So many of us feel connected to the Palins' challenge because so many of us have faced it ourselves. Whether you are Britney Spears' little sister or a poor youngster in Guilford County who won't make the cover of People magazine, the effects of teen pregnancies are often serious and long-lasting.

Among those realities:

* Even though the teen pregnancy rate has decreased here in recent years, the United States still has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the industrialized world.

* According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately one-third of girls in the United States become pregnant before age 20.

* In North Carolina, 50 teens become mothers each day.

* Teen mothers are more likely than their peers to drop out of school.

* They are more prone to become and remain single parents.

* They tend to score lower in math and reading tests well into their adolescence.

* Teen mothers are likelier to face limited career and earning opportunities compared to women whose first children are born after they reach age 20.

To be clear, I don't think teens ought to be branded with scarlet letters for getting pregnant, and I definitely don't think the progeny of such mistakes should be called "illegitimate," as some people still insist on doing.

Those babies didn't choose to be conceived and they certainly don't deserve such a mean and contemptuous label.

But neither should teen pregnancies be held up as objects of pride, however they choose to handle the pregnancy. Getting pregnant as a teen almost always is a poor choice for the mother, the father and certainly the baby.

Does that mean Palin should vilify her daughter in public? Absolutely not.

"We don't approve of what our daughter and her boyfriend have done," she and her husband could have said. "But we still love them both unconditionally and will be there for them."

This story, of course, does have political implications.

John McCain in 2005 opposed a U.S. Senate proposal that would have spent millions on pregnancy-prevention programs other than abstinence-only education, including instruction on emergency contraception.

And Palin already has made it clear that she opposes abortion in any case and favors abstinence-only sex education in public schools.

We ought to have an honest discussion about what is working and what isn't, and the social and economic consequences.

In the meantime, I respect the choice Palin's daughter and son-in-law-to-be have made in this situation.

However, as part and parcel of Palin's beliefs, she seems to be very big as well on personal responsibility.

And as a potential vice president, she has the opportunity to set a good example for parents and young people alike by holding her young daughter in a loving embrace.

And also holding her accountable.