High School Was Wrong to Pull Teen Mother’s Yearbook Picture

Opinion   |   Kelsey Hazzard   |   May 7, 2013   |   10:35AM   |   Washington, DC

A North Carolina high school pulled a teen’s senior portrait because she had the portrait taken with her baby boy.

As ABC reports:

A high school student is fighting back after her senior photo was pulled from the school yearbook.

The photo shows North Carolina senior Caitlin Tiller holding her now one-year old son.

The school asked students to have their picture taken with something that best represents them or an achievement.

Tiller chose her son because he represented her drive to stay in school. The school didn’t see it that way. Caitlin says she was told the picture promoted teen pregnancy. She sees it as a symbol of responsibility and love.

“They should be proud that the students are willing to stay in school and graduate and make something of their self and not try and hide it,” Tiller said.

School officials would only say the yearbook should be all about the student and not an extension of the student’s family.

As we’ve said before, preventing abortion means preventing unplanned pregnancies and supporting mothers. This includes teen mothers. Of course pregnancy and parenthood represent serious challenges for a teenager, and reducing teen pregnancy rates (read: unplanned pregnancy rates) is important. But once a teenager is already pregnant–or already a parent–she should be supported, as all parents should be supported.

Society’s message to our youth should be: “Here are the serious responsibilities involved in pregnancy and parenthood. Here are the ways you can avoid pregnancy [abstinence, various birth control methods]. But if you do get pregnant, you will still be okay. You are not alone.”

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Tiller’s attitude about being a teen mom is admirable, and we salute her.

LifeNews.com Note:  Kelsey Hazzard is the president of Secular Pro-Life, an organization that uses non-religious arguments to promote the pro-life perspective.