Sarah Palin’s Husband Todd, Daughter Bristol Promote Abstinence For Teenagers
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
May 6, 2009
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Sarah Palin’s family continue to raise the issue of abstinence education in prominent media interviews about her daughter Bristol’s teen pregnancy. Bristol said abstinence is a realistic option for teenagers while her father Todd said in an interview that teen pregnancy is a "mistake."
Palin, the 19-year old daughter of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential candidate last year, told ABC’s "Good Morning America" she wishes she would have waited before having sex.
In New York City to promote National Teen Pregnancy Awareness Day, Bristol said abstinence is the best choice for teenagers despite her own decisions. She has signed on as a national spokeswoman for the day.
"Regardless of what I did personally, I just think that abstinence is the only way you can effectively, 100% foolproof way you can prevent pregnancy," she said on the show.
The young Palin talked about her new son Tripp, whom she called "the love of my life," and said he is starting to giggle. Though she loves her son, she told ABC she wished she had waited to get pregnant until later in life.
She told Matt Lauer a baby “is not just an accessory on your hip. This is hard work.”
“It’s completely changed,” Bristol told ABC about having a child. “I’m up all night with [Tripp]. I’m constantly changing diapers and making bottles. Your priorities change 100 percent.”
But she called her 4-month-old son Tripp “not a mistake at all. He’s a blessing.”
Meanwhile, Todd Palin told the program about why his daughter is involved.
“It’s kind of a fine line that we’re walking on,” he said. He said the involvement was a way of “sharing Bristol’s experience with other teenagers — sharing the mistake she made a year ago,” and helping other girls to learn from it.
“We’re very proud of Bristol,” he said. “She’s tough. She’s a great mom. We’re proud of her for taking on this national responsibility.”
He said teenagers should think about the consequences of having sex first and about the responsibility afterwards of becoming a parent.
“I think that they should,” he said. “This is a huge responsibility, and you don’t have time for friends.”
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