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Wednesday, June 25, 2008
News I've heard pregnancy is contagious, but this is ridiculous
Posted By Kimberly Lawson on Wed, Jun 25, 2008 at 7:58 AM
Time magazine published an article last week that the 17 teens at Gloucester High School in Massachusettes who are expecting made a "pregnancy pact" — in which they would get pregnant together and raise their children together. The kicker was that, allegedly, one of the baby's daddies is a 24-year-old homeless guy.
Here's the latest from BostonHerald.com:
Pregnancy pact story unravels
By Jessica Heslam
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Boston Herald Media Reporter
Reporter Jessica Heslam covers the media for the Boston Herald.
The Gloucester teen baby mama drama took two hits yesterday, as a pregnant teen told “Good Morning America” there was no pact at the North Shore school where 17 girls are expecting and the head of the school’s day-care center denied telling a Time magazine reporter that one of her employees had heard of the pact.
Five days after the magazine’s sensational pregnancy pact expose hit the Web, Time reporter Kathleen Kingsbury followed up with a second story on Monday after the Gloucester mayor said there was no evidence of a pact.
Kingsbury wrote that Sue Todd, CEO of Pathways for Children, which runs the Gloucester High School’s onsite day-care center, told Time on June 13 that “its social worker had heard of the girls’ plan to get pregnant as early as last fall.”
But yesterday, Todd disputed the story and denied any of her employees knew of such plans, according to the Associated Press. “At no time have I stated to anyone that our social worker had knowledge of this. I have stated the opposite,” Todd told the AP. “If anyone would be aware of this pact being real it would be us, because we run the program.”
Kingsbury’s voice mail at work was full yesterday, but Time spokeswoman Ali Zelenko said, “We stand by our story.” Todd didn’t return a call to the Herald.
In her original piece, Kingsbury wrote that the girls who made the pact declined to be interviewed.
Last Thursday, Kingsbury told National Public Radio she had “spoken to many” of the teens in the pact and their friends.
But in Monday’s story, Kingsbury seemed to suggest she hadn’t spoken with anyone in the pact.
“None of the rising juniors Time identified as being members of the pact have come forward publicly, but nine Gloucester High students have talked to Time about the girls who decided to get pregnant.
“Without comment from any of the pregnant students themselves, it may be impossible to determine exactly what they agreed to, and when,” she wrote.
Meanwhile, a fawning Chris Cuomo interviewed 17-year-old Lindsey Oliver on “Good Morning America” yesterday. Oliver, who is five months pregnant, is a Gloucester High School student and appeared on the show with the baby’s 20-year-old father.
“There definitely was no pact,” Oliver said. “There was a group of girls already pregnant that decided they were going to help each other to finish school and raise their kids together. I think it was just a coincidence.”
At the end of the interview, Cuomo told the couple that having a baby was the best thing that ever happened to him. “I hope it’s the same for you,” Cuomo said. Cuomo then whispered, “And little Chloe Jade, we’ll see you soon.”
Gloucester High School Principal Joseph Sullivan, who told Time of the alleged pregnancy pact, didn’t answer the door of his Wakefield home yesterday.
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