I posted this cartoon earlier this morning and walked away from my computer. In no time I began to question my motives. I began to feel guilty for joining the masses in casting dispersions at Jamie Lynn Spears and the fact that she is pregnant at 16 years old. What a whore!! What a tramp!! Just like her sister!!

In my case, what a hypocrite!! You see, I married my high school sweet heart and she was 3 months pregnant and 16 years old at the time. Was she a tramp? A whore? I think not!! Was I a serial rapist or pedophile? (perhaps!!!) No, not really. In looking back I think we were a typical teenage couple who were in love and expressing our love for one another in a God given manner without the proper education of, or access to, birth control methods.

So what are the issues here? Is it the fact that she accidentally got pregnant or is it her age? I think it's a no-brainer to state that women of all ages become pregnant when they don't want to and the reasons behind each case vary. No method of birth control is 100% effective. Well what about abstinence you may ask? I think we humans are naturally wired to have sex and it's hard to remember abstinence when the juices are flowing.

And what is it about the age of 18 that is so magical? In looking over the various state laws on consent, only eight states have an age of consent of 18 years old. Eight more states have an age of consent of 17 years of age, and the majority of states, 28, have an age of 16 years of age. Now you mathematicians out there will quickly note that this adds up to 44 and there are in fact 50 states still in the union. Well six states show ages of consent that vary between 16-18 years of age, one for males and one for females!!! The age of 18 would make sense if that was when the hormones began to kick in, but we know that that is not the case.

I recently watched a program on the history channel called the History of Sex. (Go figure) One statement made was that the average age of marriage in the colonial days in America was 14 and 60% of those women were pregnant at the time they got married. So I think it's easy to assume that teens have been having sex for hundreds (probably thousands) of years. So why can't we learn from history? Today we have advanced birth control methods and we should be educating our teens and providing them with the necessary tools to make good decisions. But providing easy access to birth control methods will put the idea of having sex into their heads!! Sure, just like having easy access to guns makes them want to go out and commit robberies. Well, teenagers aren't mature enough to make a proper decision regarding sex. In many cases that's not true. If it is, let's give them some protection from what may be a poor decision.

So Jamie Lynn Spears, and unwed teenage mothers everywhere, I apologize for casting dispersions on you and your situation. I hope that you are able to obtain love and support from your family and loved ones and make a decision about your pregnancy that you can live with. As for former President Clinton, that's another story for another day.

Note: The opinions expressed in this blog are limited to me and may not reflect the opinions of others who live in my home. :-)