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The Courage Of Her Convictions

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 3, 2008

When a 17-year-old becomes pregnant, there may be talk at school and tears at home, but the girl and her parents are generally not foisted into the national spotlight.

But then the girl's mother is usually not running for vice president of the United States.

So when John McCain's campaign revealed Monday that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter, Bristol, is pregnant and has decided to keep her baby and marry the father, news that would normally have remained a private family matter flashed across the globe.

The Palin family confirmed the pregnancy and affirmed their love for their eldest daughter. And McCain's Democratic opponent, Barack Obama, responded in an appropriate way, vowing that the subject of Bristol's pregnancy was "off limits."

But when a 47-year-old Republican governor and darling of the right, a woman who advocates for abstinence-only sex-education programs and stresses her pro-life beliefs, announces she will soon become a grandmother, the situation takes on a different look.

Most Americans, whether pro-choice or pro-life, understand that raising a child isn't easy in the best of circumstances, much less as a teenager thrust onto the world stage by her mother's ambition.

Voters will undoubtedly look at this family and empathize. A majority of conservatives don't seem bothered by Bristol's pregnancy. A few, though, have questioned why Palin accepted McCain's offer, knowing the ordeal it would put her daughter through.

Perhaps the experience will teach Gov. Palin that while it's good to stress abstinence before marriage, sex-education programs should give girls the tools they need to protect themselves, in case they stray.

Bristol's pregnancy has nothing to do with her mother's accomplishments or her potential performance as vice president, the most important measure by which she should be judged.

Whatever else can be said, Palin and her family are living their beliefs. Her daughter will have her baby - a courageous decision under the circumstances.

But were she not in a famous family, her future - like those facing other teenaged moms - would not be so bright.

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