Sarah Palin’s Daughter Bristol: Don’t be Teen Mom, My Decision to Keep Baby
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 17, 2009
Wasilla, AK (LifeNews.com) — Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol spoke out on Monday night for the first time about her teen pregnancy and her views on abstinence and abortion. She said she would urge other teen girls not to become a mother so soon and added that it was her decision and not her mother’s to keep her baby.
Palin and her family came under intense media scrutiny shortly after John McCain named her as his vice-presidential running mate.
Palin herself gave birth to a Down syndrome baby earlier in 2008 and then her daughter Bristol became pregnant. Bristol eventually decided to both keep her baby and marry her boyfriend.
She talked about those decisions in depth in an interview with Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren on Monday night.
"Everyone should wait 10 years," the young Palin said about becoming a mother as a teenager. "I hope people learn from my story.”
"It’s so much easier if you’re married, have a house and career. It’s not a situation you want to strive for," she added.
Bristol said her mother’s pro-life views had nothing to do with whether she would keep her baby.
"It was my choice to have the baby," she said. "It doesn’t matter what my mom’s views are on it. It was my decision."
“I don’t regret it at all,” she said. “I just wish it had happened in 10 years, not now.”
Bristol said she enjoys being a mother to her son, Tripp.
“I like being a mom. I love it. Just like seeing him smile and stuff, it’s awesome. It is very challenging, but it’s so rewarding,” she said. “I’ve been baby-sitting my whole life,” she said about her ability to raise a child.
Tripp’s father is Levi Johnston, a classmate at high school and Bristol said the two will eventually get married, but not yet.
“He’s in love with him as much as I am,” Bristol said about Levi’s relationship with Tripp.
In the interview, Bristol admitted that confessing the pregnancy to her family was more difficult than the birth of her baby — saying it was "harder than labor."
“My friend blurted it out,” she said about how she informed her parents. “It’s something I don’t want to remember.”
During her interview, Bristol also suggested that abstinence isn’t always the best policy for teenagers because some, like her, will not heed the message. She said it is the best policy but that it isn’t as practical in today’s society.
Sarah Palin was also interviewed and she told the Fox News host that she is proud of her daughter for wanting to encourage young girls to avoid teen pregnancy.
“I’m proud of her to want to take on an advocacy role,” Sarah Palin said. “It’s not the most ideal situation, but certainly make the best of it.”
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