ArchPundit
What if your 17 year old daughter were to tell you she’s pregnant? Barack Obama said in March 2008:
“I wouldn’t want my daughter to be punished with a baby . . . “
Vice Presidential GOP candidate Sarah Palin and her husband Todd’s announcement today that their 17 year old daughter Bristol is 5 months pregnant:
“We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us. Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that 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 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. We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi’s privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates.”
Reuters reports that McCain knew about the situation last week when he announced Sarah Palin as his running mate, deciding the situation did not disqualify the 44 year old governor in any way.
Full Context of Obama Quote:
“This is a very difficult issue, and I understand sort of the passions on both sides of the issue,” he said. “I have two precious daughters — they are miracles.”
But politicians must trust women to make the right decisions for themselves, he said.
“This is an example where good people can disagree,” the Illinois senator said. “The question then is, are there areas that we can agree to that everybody can get behind? We can all agree that we want to reduce teen pregnancies. We can all agree that we want to make sure that adoption is a viable option.”
The exchange appeared to be prompted by Obama’s earlier comments that he does not favor abstinence-only education, but rather comprehensive sexual education that includes information on abstinence and birth control.
“Look, I got two daughters — 9 years old and 6 years old,” he said. “I am going to teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby. I don’t want them punished with an STD at age 16, so it doesn’t make sense to not give them information.”
IOW, he wants his children to know enough how to prevent pregnancy and avoid STDs so the situation doesn’t even get to the point the Palin family is in. Getting pregnant at a young age isn’t just a problem of not having sex, but also creating a greater risk of contracting a disease. Hence, Obama wants his children to have all the information in case they make a bad decision.