Teen motherhood often leads to lifetime poverty, but Missouri's attorney general wants teens to have more babies so his state can get more federal dollars
Thank you. I really want us to see these young people as worthy of help — first of all to prevent teen pregnancy as much as possible, and secondly to help them parent well and launch a good life for themselves and their children if they do end up parenting very young.
Indeed, well-said. That is one of the many important nuances that right-wingers (and some fauxgressives too) unfortunately like to steamroll over. Zealots of any kind really seem to hate complexity.
Amen. Very well-said. That is one of the many important nuances that right-wingers (and some fauxgressives too) unfortunately like to steamroll over. Zealots of any kind really seem to hate complexity.
So this dude from a party that has stigmatized the hell out of "welfare moms" and ridicules government handouts....want pregnant teens to be his Cash cows for, uh, government handouts. That he clearly wants to spend on...not them. Fun times.
This was a damn good piece, Michelle. It’s always been a conservative dream to produce lots of little corporate cogs to keep that machine running. No sex ed means lots of babies. Throw in the guilt and shame aspects of disappointing god and you’ve completed your required religious task. Who cares how those cogs are taken care of? At least they will supply manpower for The Machine. God bless donald trump!
Well-said. It's SO transparent what they are trying to do here, and it is disgusting. Reminds me of an article from over two decades ago published in the right wing rag National Review, literally titled, "Let's Have More Teen Pregnancy". Talk about saying the quiet part out loud!
And of course, we should never shame or blame the teen mothers themselves, as that only adds secondary harms to them and their children, and punching down is wrong. (The genuine left would never do so, despite all the words the right wing puts into their mouths, but I digress.) They deserve at least as much support from society as they would if they were a bit older. But at the same time, we should never let the purveyors of Margaret Atwood's worst nightmare (like the Missouri AG), and forced-birthers and patriarchy in general, weaponize teen pregnancy as a way to systematically keep women down and "in their place".
This is absolutely nuts. I can’t believe a politician actually said that… out loud. (Well, ok, I suppose I can…)
Still, I’m enthralled that this topic has come up since, coincidentally, I just wrote about my own teenage pregnancy in my last article.
It is a tricky balancing act to support teen moms & avoid shaming them, but also help towards the cause of reducing the number of teen births.
You’ve done a great job of highlighting *respect* for the young women that could be affected by this craziness. 💗
Thank you. I really want us to see these young people as worthy of help — first of all to prevent teen pregnancy as much as possible, and secondly to help them parent well and launch a good life for themselves and their children if they do end up parenting very young.
Thank you for your efforts. ❤️
Indeed, well-said. That is one of the many important nuances that right-wingers (and some fauxgressives too) unfortunately like to steamroll over. Zealots of any kind really seem to hate complexity.
Amen. Very well-said. That is one of the many important nuances that right-wingers (and some fauxgressives too) unfortunately like to steamroll over. Zealots of any kind really seem to hate complexity.
Well-said
So this dude from a party that has stigmatized the hell out of "welfare moms" and ridicules government handouts....want pregnant teens to be his Cash cows for, uh, government handouts. That he clearly wants to spend on...not them. Fun times.
What an excellent point!
He is a modern-day Pharisee, basically.
Pretty sad when teen pregnancy becomes a cash crop
Indeed. Ugh!
The link to the Dutch/sex article is broken
Fixed! Thank you so much for letting me know.
https://medium.com/minds-without-borders/we-could-learn-a-lot-about-sex-from-the-dutch-8864066b2d99
These assholes want the girls’ uncles to teach them sex education. My sister found out about sex that way.
Our family didn’t find out till years later.
This was a damn good piece, Michelle. It’s always been a conservative dream to produce lots of little corporate cogs to keep that machine running. No sex ed means lots of babies. Throw in the guilt and shame aspects of disappointing god and you’ve completed your required religious task. Who cares how those cogs are taken care of? At least they will supply manpower for The Machine. God bless donald trump!
Babies should not have babies.
Fat bellies are fun when they are chosen.
BINGO. "Chosen" is the key word.
True. Alas, i’ll only vote on Election Day. Early voting too hard to get to.
Good thing my body and legs work well enough to stand in any lines the chaos of the day throws at me.
And i will be voting for Kamala Harris and all Democrats on the ticket.
More about chosen fat female bellies…they serve society well enough for being places for their beloved puppies and kitties to rest upon.
I wish you would not equate pregnancy with fat, though.
It's like these guys are literally trying to get women killed:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/14/health/teen-pregnancy-early-death.html
Well-said. It's SO transparent what they are trying to do here, and it is disgusting. Reminds me of an article from over two decades ago published in the right wing rag National Review, literally titled, "Let's Have More Teen Pregnancy". Talk about saying the quiet part out loud!
And of course, we should never shame or blame the teen mothers themselves, as that only adds secondary harms to them and their children, and punching down is wrong. (The genuine left would never do so, despite all the words the right wing puts into their mouths, but I digress.) They deserve at least as much support from society as they would if they were a bit older. But at the same time, we should never let the purveyors of Margaret Atwood's worst nightmare (like the Missouri AG), and forced-birthers and patriarchy in general, weaponize teen pregnancy as a way to systematically keep women down and "in their place".
Bring on comprehensive sex ed so very few teens end up parenting.
Total agreement.
Amen