The Statistics are Staggering

I found it difficult to watch the Today show this morning.  They featured Bristol Palin taliking about the new PSA campaign she is working on trying to educate teens against the perils of pregnancy.  They repeated the phrase "the statistics are staggering" more than once.  I thought to myself, what is so staggering about those statistics?  The fact that teenagers have sex and get pregnant should not really be so shocking.  What is shocking to me is that society sees pregnancies brought to term as the "heartbreaking" side of the coin.  What percentage of those teenagers grow into being albeit a young parent, but a parent nonetheless.  Yes they struggle to finish school, and some don't.  They struggle to find a job to support themselves, and some are more successful than others.  But just like the rest of a bell curve, there are those that successful in life despite any obstacles and they are stronger because of it.  Then there are those who are the bottom of the curve who never seem to catch a break and life continues to be one crisis after another.  Chances are their life would have been that way regardless.  Ok, so back to Bristol Palin.  Do teenagers need to be educated about the consequences of sex?  Absolutely.  From pregnancy to STD's to sexual abuse, they need to understand the physical and emotional consequences of their choices.  But to take the stance that the all teen pregnancy is a "tradegy" worthy of solemn looks and heavy hearts is to refuse to acknowledge that there just as many stories of young men and women who rose to the challenge, did the right thing, and their lives have been enriched by the child they brought into the world, not destroyed by it.