I'm going to assume this is a typo. A hilarious typo, but still accidental.

"The 16 year-old Spears is the star of Nickelodeon's shit show "Zoey 101.""

lol. YES, it was a typo. I think i was typing shit to myself in the post and forgot to erase it. amazing.

I was totally shocked when I heard this news... just how many more children are going to be screwed up by the Spears family?

That aside...
I agree with Jessica's comments about "taking responsibility." Being responsible is making the best choice for YOU. But I don't think Jamie Lynn has a choice... the "choice" has already been made for her.

I agree, I don't understand why "responsibility" is even brought up. Or if it is an issue, what about the "responsibility" of the parents, teachers, other adults, etc. to teach a 16 yr-old about sex, contraceptive, diseases, and consequences? I'm not sure if and when Jamie Lynn Spears was in school, nor am I sure what she was taught about sex, but I think this is a bit of proof that (and I know that I'm making a leap)abstinence only education doesn't really work. I don't want to underestimate Jamie Lynn, maybe she really was aware of the consequences of sex, and pregnancy does happen. But I think that when a 16 yr-old gets pregnant the "responsiblity" neither ends with the 16 yr-old, nor should it imply that carrying to term is the only correct option.

...although, after looking at the site for the show, which is full of formulaic characters and tired plot lines, I might agree with that word choice...

"But I don't think Jamie Lynn has a choice... the "choice" has already been made for her."

Why on earth would you assume that this girl didn't choose to keep her baby? Did I miss something? Is there a part in the interview where JLS tells OK! magazine that what she REALLY wanted was to get rid of it... but mom and Nickelodeon made her keep it?

Why is it necessary to disempower her in order to make a larger point?

hahaha i'm such a feministing junkie that i had the exact same reaction as jessica when i read that this morning. who's to say that keeping the baby is more responsible, and why does the network feel the need to pass judgment on her anyway?

the celeb gossip junkie in me also finds it incredibly amusing that lynn spears' forthcoming book on parenting is now "temporarily" on hold.

From the article:

What message does she want to send to other teens about premarital sex? "I definitely don't think it's something you should do; it's better to wait."

No, now I'm sure that this is an example of how "abstinence-only" doesn't work well. I know that I don't know if her and her boyfriend were using contraception, but from this statement: She obviously doesn't understand that she got pregnant, not because she didn't wait to have sex until marriage, but because she and her boyfriend weren't taking the right steps to protect against pregnancy. Of course, if you abstain from sex you won't get pregnant. However, if you choose not to abstain you have to understand how to prevent pregnancy! She's not pregnant JUST because she didn't wait! That's only half of it!

Forget all the talks about abortion and responsibility, in reporting this news, the media and MTV and all of them are only saying one thing, and it has nothing to do with responsibility and choice.

They are reporting it because of this: a "hot" 16-year-old apparently fucks - and you know, that's so ...erotic.

I doubt MTV, Nickelodeon or any of those people give a shit about the abortion issue.

I found mama-Spears' reaction pretty boggling also - she expressed surprise that this had happened to Jamie Lynn because she "never missed curfew" and always "stays in" - with the 19 year old live in boyfriend who mama-Spears allowed to live with Jamie!

It's weird how staying in with a boyfriend can lead to pregnancy. I thought sex could only get you pregnant if you had it in the bathroom of a nightclub.

As for Nickelodeon and pregnancy - I'm sure Nickelodeon would have much preferred a secret abortion to this publicity mess!

Ugh, you'd think the rich & famous could hire someone to shove a pill down their throats once a day. They're apparently the most fertile people in the world and the least likely to use protection.

Is anybody else bugged about the part of this story where the father of this baby is a 19 year old? Why isn't anybody calling out this dude for being with a 16 y o girl? Though maybe a three year gap isn't that big even at that age (and considering he was a live-in bf, apparently her parents were cool with it), it's still illegal...

How is this being responsible? I think a better example of responsible behaviour would be not engaging in unprotected intercourse unless you're trying to get pregnant.

I suppose they could have been using b/c and it failed but for some reason, maybe it's the unfortunate associations I have with the whole Spears family, I'm thinking they didn't.

To me, being 'responsible' about an unwanted pregnancy doesn't amount to a hill of beans when you've contracted HIV or some other sexually transmitted disease for want of the use of a condom.

By the way, I wanted to make sure everyone knew that I was being sarcastic, in pointing out the media and its sexualization of teens and children, and I wasn't really saying I think it's hot that Little Spears is having sex ...:)

Frijolera - I don't think that JennieTheGiraffe is trying to disempower JLS. But, the fact is that she is 16, and while none of us know whether or not she did choose to keep the child, it is hard to believe that she would have any choice, especially because of her age (and her southern christian background) - she isn't an adult, by law, and very likely doesn't have a choice but to comply with what her adult parents want.

SarahMC:
"Ugh, you'd think the rich & famous could hire someone to shove a pill down their throats once a day. They're apparently the most fertile people in the world and the least likely to use protection."

On the other hand, it's getting to the point where the rich and famous are the only people in this country who would be able to afford an unplanned pregnancy.
The rest of us are the ones who would fret and freak out if we accidently became pregnant and did the math regarding income loss, medical bills, the cost of rrelistically raising a child, etc.

Appropriately enough, this post comes right after Ann's about money continuing to flow to abstinence-only indoctrination.

Ah, the Spears family - soon again will be heard the pitter-patter of little bare feet at gas stations all across this fair land.

I think by responsibility they meant that they are going to support her in her choices, including, for example, taking time off from work to have the child or to ensure it's health, or, once she kept the child, raising it herself instead of letting Britney or her mom raise it for her.

I'm guessing this has more to do with "See! WE don't fire our young stars just because they have sex sometimes, unlike SOME networks!"

Yes, it would have been more responsible to use birth control. Maybe it would have been more responsible to abort once she was pregnant, even. But now that she's already pregnant and keeping the child, she's (hopefully) taking up the responsibility that she lacked when she didn't use birth control and plans to do what is best for the kid and for her own health.

I think she's more likely than many teenagers to be able to handle this, especially if she doesn't listen to her sister or her mother. After all, she's employed, presumably from Nickelodeon's comments will not be blacklisted for this, and has enough money that she will not have to deal with the crushing poverty that often accompanies teen motherhood. Hopefully she will hire a good nanny and continue both to work and to go to school, and she will prove that the Spears legacy doesn't continue into her. She seems smarter than the rest of her family, birth control or no birth control. I still have high hopes for her.

I'm absolutely disgusted with how the media is treating this girl.

http://teresacentric.com/2007/12/disgusted-with-the-medias-response-to-pregnancy-announcement-by-jaime-lynn-spears/

All the recrimination and judgment when we should be supporting her for making a choice that works for her and her family. She has the money to raise this kid and we have to assume that raising her baby is what she wants to do.

After all, she did say that she took a couple of weeks all to herself before telling even her mother. If she'd decided on an abortion, she could have had one without anyone knowing.

This country needs to have a serious conversation about teenage sex that does not just amount to "don't do it." We need to talk in matter-of-fact ways about the realities of reproductive functions, birth control, choices and consequences.

Poor Jaime Lynn. This is going to be rough on her.

Wow, the story on cnn.com does NOT say that Jamie Lynn's boyfriend was 19 or that he LIVES WITH HER!

Then why the f*ck did she say she didn't really have a steady boyfriend, but prefers to "keep her options open"?

Who cares what she says about whether or not she has a steady boyfriend? It's nobody else's business but her own.

And regardless of whether or not he's 19 or they're living together or what, it seems awfully judgmental to pick on that.

In many states, 16 is the age of consent, and in some other states where the age of consent is 18, there is an age gap (usually when the older party is younger than 24) where 16 is acceptable. The intent is to reduce incarceration in cases (like this one) where a 16-year-old is dating someone who is 18 or 19, who then gets put away as a child molester and/or made to register as a sex offender when they're not really much older than the ostensible victim, and they're just carrying on a normal romantic relationship that results in sex.

I think the 24 bar that several states set is too high, but where to draw the line is its own discussion.

Well, Mac, when she makes statements to cnn.com and OK magazine, she MAKES it everyone's business. She didn't have to say either of those things.

And yeah, knowing that her 19 year old boyfriend lives with her makes me wonder how on earth her mother is shocked that her "little 16 year old baby" got pregnant.

Forget all the talks about abortion and responsibility, in reporting this news, the media and MTV and all of them are only saying one thing, and it has nothing to do with responsibility and choice.

They are reporting it because of this: a "hot" 16-year-old apparently fucks - and you know, that's so ...erotic.

Come on! Are you saying that they wouldn't have reported that Britney Spears' sister had gotten pregnant if she had been ugly?

You think? I know when I was 19, I couldn't stand to be around 16 year olds, they were immature, and not interested in the same things I was. So a 19 who wants to date a 16 year old seems strange to me.

I don't know if this is one of the states where it's legal, they live in the south though, so it's definitly possible... but still rather gross to me.

I don't think a woman has the choice BUT to take responsibility when she gets pregnant. Having an abortion, choosing adoption, or deciding to raise the baby are all responsible in different ways. Pretty much as long as she doesn't leave the kid in a dumpster somewhere she's taking some kind of responsibility.

BTW, loving the "do as I say not as I do" mentality with her whole anti-pre-marital sex lecture.

I understand where you guys are coming from on this, and if that statement had come from another network (like, say, Fox) I might feel differently, but I think this may just be a case of unfortunate wording. They don't say anything else there that shows a bias. If you take out the words "to take responsibility", it doesn't read as being one way or the other.

However, with that being said, I'm still annoyed by that "take responsibility" thing because in my mind I'm saying "responsibility? how about using affective birth control?" But like others have said, we don't know the whole story (I guess maybe we'll have to buy OK if we want to find out) so we can't say. After all, it does say she was "SHOCKED", which could imply that she was using birth control, but could also imply that she *thought* she was using "birth control" (like 'can't get preggers if the girl's on top, y'all!'). Also a possibility: she's f*in clueless.

I also dislike that you hear from a lot of parents of young female celebrities when they get into sexy troubles (the Spears, the Simpson sisters, Lindsey Lohan, etc), but I sure as heck never heard Shia LaBouf's mom after he got arrested or Zac Efron's dad writing books about his childhood. (Correct me if I'm wrong.) We expect young women to need parenting until they're about 30, but young men are "self-sufficient" at age 18 or 19. That sucks. I'm 25 and people still really don't treat me like an adult.
Did I just go off on a tangent?

"I think by responsibility they meant that they are going to support her in her choices, including, for example, taking time off from work to have the child or to ensure it's health, or, once she kept the child, raising it herself instead of letting Britney or her mom raise it for her."

Letting Britney raise it for her? Britney can't even get custody of her own kids!

Faerylore,
I find your harping on his age kind of disturbing. He's only 3 years older than her. They could have gone to the same high school at the same time; it's not that weird. Why is it that we think teenagers can only date people exactly their own age but adults can date people ten years their senior and no one really bats an eye? I dated someone who was 19 when I was 16, and I got the same reaction for three years, until I turned 20 and he was 23. Then it was suddenly okay. I find that odd.

Sorry, I meant four years.

Seriously, why is it a "hard time" thanks for the judgment call Nickelodeon.

Courtney Stoker "Why is it that we think teenagers can only date people exactly their own age but adults can date people ten years their senior and no one really bats an eye?"

Because there's not a lot of development going on in adults, so there's not a huge difference in ten years. But imagine the difference between a 14 year old and an 18 year old.

That said, an immature 19 year old and a mature 16 year old are fine together. It's really a case-by-case kind of thing.

It doesn't comfort me to know she has the money to raise the child. Money doesn't create mental/emotional stability. Sure, the kid will have all the material possessions s/he needs, but good lord, I'm not optimistic any of these mini Spears' will turn out well-adjusted.

What bothers me most about this whole thing is that girls and women do not (usually) get pregnant on their own. There is barely any mention of the baby's dad, Casey Aldridge, who should take just as much "responsibility" for this child. Neither Casey nor Jamie Lynn should be shamed by the media for this because all it does is speak to the abysmal sex education in our country, however, Jamie Lynn IS being shamed and targeted and Casey is not. Why isn't Casey the focus of news broadcasts and interviews about how "sad this situation is" and "how young they are?"

The other things is that Jamie Lynn Spears is a privileged and rich girl who will probably never face the worries of teenage parenting. She has the resources (specifically financially) to provide this baby anything it needs. This simply is not a generalizable example of the struggles of teen parenting. However, it is one of many other things such as: double standards, lack of adequate sex education, and privilege.

Teen moms are some of the best moms I know. I think we need to have a little more faith and a lot less obstacles for women who choose to parent in their teens.

I wouldn't quite say I'm harping on it... unless mentioning how odd I find it that nobody seems to bat an eye at it when it is illegal in quite a few states. I second the idea that this boy's part in the resulting pregnancy is glossed over in the same way that it is often glossed over in favor of focusing upon the girl.
Besides, just bc it worked out well for you doesn't mean it works out well for everyone.

Frankly when I think of college-aged people dating high schoolers, I think of people who are trolling for easy sex. Obviously not every situation is that... but I would think that probably more than a few qualify.

lol. And who wants to take the bet to say that Jamie Lynn is a well-adjusted, mature 16 year old who's ready to raise a child? That family doesn't exactly have the greatest track record, though I guess she is supposed to be the well-behaved one or something, she is afterall, always in before curfew.

So, I surfed over to YouTube to watch the music video for Love Song, by Sara Bareilles, somebody who as far as I know is pretty unconnected to this whole thing, and found people discussing her pregnancy in the comments thread on the video. (Link goes to video page.)

All I have to say about that is, what the Hell? "This is a great video! By the way, Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant!"

Faerylore: I feel you. When I was an RA, and I had sophomores (in college), one guy was dating a junior in high school, and everyone was like, ick. It's surely not the same as a 30 year old dating a 16 year old, but it's still a lightweight power differential. I wouldn't try to stop them, but I certainly wouldn't have even considered it when I was 18-20. *shrug*

Question: Does it state in the article or anywhere that she wasn't using protection? Birth control of any sort does fail sometimes.

I was wondering when this was going to be reported as soon as I saw it on Boston.com this morning...

I don't necessarily think Nickelodeon's statement was incorrect or in bad taste... I mean is it not safe to assume that this IS a HARD TIME for her??? Is that not what we feminists argue all the time... that the choice is a hard one thus not one made in haste and shallowness? Just a thought.

And when I read it way earlier this morning hyped up on coffee, I took the whole responsibility thing as more of a recognition that JLS is doing... she is going public with it... she had sex, got pregnant, and it making a decision thus acting responsibly. In my eyes responsiblity does not lie in the actual outcome but in the fact that you made a decision. I could be wrong, but that's how I took it.

Also, I think we should cut her some slack bc as some people have pointed out, it doesn't say she wishes she didn't have to keep it, wants to abort, etc. I think its safe to assume that just like some people do not want to have a baby, some people do. And we should respect the ability to choose, either way.

i see this as a high-profile (for at least 15 minutes) case of these 'no duh' points, much needed to be highlighted at this time in our social history -

- teens have sex

- tell them 'don't do it' with millions of dollars in funding, and they still do it.

joyinrevolt, i agree, some teen moms are amazing moms and we cannot discount them. However, what i am saying is that it is incredibly difficult to be a parent in general, let alone a teen parent. However, Jamie Lynn will probably never get the "teen mom" experience anyway because she is extremely privileged and rich.

nickclick:
But didn't you know? Once you tell them not to do it, they deserve whatever they get! Because, you know, you warned them what would happen if they had sex, and they just went ahead and slutted it up, the shameless hussies.

Assuming they're girls. If they're boys, then, well, boys will be boys, you know?

Is it just me, or is that photo on the magazine cover creeping anyone else the hell out?

I mean, she's

a) Sixteen years old.

b) Pregnant.

c) Talking about how she thinks having sex before marriage is a bad thing.

And so the magazine puts her on the cover doing that pout that photographers tell you to do when they want a "come here and fuck me" look. wtf.

It's so disturbing how many people were calling her a slut/whore in blog comments when she had sex possibly very few times with her boyfriend at the average age people in America do it.
And of course they're not concentrating on her boyfriend. Some things seem to never change.

Man, I have been reading comments on other sites about this and the people here are positively tame comparitively. That said, I don't know, but I would make an educated guess that this girl has not been in "real school" for quite some years so I don't really know that we can assume she was indocrinated into abstience only bullshit. She probably films her tv show fulltime with a private tutor or something. For all we know, she was using birth control and it failed and she looked at her options and chose to keep the baby. Hell, I am 24 and like to think myself pretty on top of reproductive issues and was recently informed by a phyisician I wasn't taking my bc correctly. Not that I think teen motherhood is a positive thing, she did make this decision for herself and as has been pointed out, she probably has the money to raise a child.

Nerdalert, I agree with you, and you said it better than I.

Going back to your previous comment about the mother's speaking out about their adult daughter's behavior, I wonder how much of it stems from a habit started by the part that a lot of these people (Spears, Lohan, etc) started off as underaged stars. I don't know of too many underaged male stars (though I do remember an interview with Lil' Bow Wow's mom, didn't she write a book or something too?).

But hello, didn't you know? Women don't really grow up until they get married to a man who can tell them what to do.

Seriously though, there are young stars that we don't with graced with parent commentaries... Duff, Moore, etc. So I guess if you're willing to be the "good girl" version of celebrity then people are willing to take you seriously? Maybe at least until you screw up, and *then* they start screaming about how your mom should have taught (controlled) you better?

I'm not sure which would be worse...

Faerylore--
You're right that the age thing can be strange, but it does need to be looked at for individual situations. I'm nineteen and my boyfriend is 23; we were seventeen and 21 when we started dating. This seems like a wide age gap, but I'm the oldest child in my family and he's the youngest in his. So while he's at the 'normal' maturity level for someone in his early twenties, I'm probably there too, considering the years of my teens I spent taking care of my siblings when my parents were at their various 'functions' multiple nights a week. Which was why it was weird, dating my first boyfriend, a guy who was only a year older than me and a middle child--he had never had the responsibility I experienced, and when I was sixteen and he was seventeen, it felt sometimes like he was behaving the way I had at fourteen, simply from his immature actions.
So I don't think it's the age differences that need to be focused on here--if he really was live-in, I think that's pretty stupid on Spears' parents' part. If they didn't use birth control, also very dumb. And about half of the responsibility should be the father's, not just hers--she shouldn't be getting all of the blame.

I have to say that I absolutely loathe the term "preggers". It was the Jamie-Lynn headline on yahoo.com last night, but they changed it today.

'Preggers' sounds like some sort of horrible skin condition to me. Where did that term even come from? It just really gets under my skin.

Yeah, this is just a random rant.

"It's so disturbing how many people were calling her a slut/whore in blog comments when she had sex possibly very few times with her boyfriend at the average age people in America do it."

Umm, even if she were out banging every guy in sight, doing it dozens of times, etc. it's her damn choice. "Slut/whore" are used to keep women in their place.

I'm sorry, but I really don't see Nickelodeon's statement as a judgment. They had to write something, and coming from a PR background, I can tell you their PR department is having a nightmare right now. Don't forget, this is a KIDS network-not the WB or NBC, which I wouldn't have expected to make a statement, since, well, I assume most of their audience is already having sex. Is it bad that this will prompt some birds-and-bees talk? No, of course not. But if I were a parent, I wouldn't want to have that talk at 8 or 9, which I'm sure make up some of the audience.

Also, if I were the PR flack who wrote that statement, I'd be thinking "responsible" as code for "will not be partaking in activities such as drinking or drugs that may harm her child, as have some people in her family."

Why is the media not including the boyfriend? Is he famous? If he was, I'd expect some sappy "We're starting a family!1!" pose on the cover.

Miss Mouse, I think "preggers" is a British term that the American press has latched onto recently...?

UneFemme, I agree that the individual situation and the actual people involved trumps in this sort of question... I didn't really mean to off this into a whole, oh nooz! The children! sort of thing... It just seemed odd to me that there wasn't any comment as to the minor age diff btwn these two. Everyone's so willing to accuse her of being a slut (not on this site), but there's no real discussion of him or the part where he's an older, live-in boyfriend. Curious, that's all.

But yeah to my knowledge (and what a questionable source that is), he is a live-in. Which is somewhat neutral to me, as if people are going to have sex, they're going to have sex regardless of where everyone sleeps... As mama Spears apparently found out. Funniest part about this whole thing is where she keeps on going back to the 'but she never broke curfew'...

Yeah, if her boyfriend lives with her and they sleep in the same bed every night, a curfew is not going to a thing to keep her from getting pregnant. So I don't know why Mama Spears is so stuck on that curfew.

"I were a parent, I wouldn't want to have that talk at 8 or 9, which I'm sure make up some of the audience."

Everone's different, but I for one am very glad that my parents were matter of fact with me about sex from the time I was very small. By 8, I could tell you how a woman gets pregnant, what my ovaries were and what a period was.

Today, I'm comfortable with my body and I've never had a reproductive mishap. Especially in our sex-saturated culture 8 or 9 is about the right time to start informing. Otherwise, our kids absorb society's values, not ours.

Gah! Look at the letter Nickelodeon sent to the National Enquirer when they broke the JLS pregnancy story months ago:

http://perezhilton.com/?p=10850

Because apparently if she were having sex, or were pregnant she wouldn't be morally upright anymore.

These child stars often grow up too fast. I think the "hard time" JLS will have may not be immediately, due to her financial privileges, the thrill of a new cute baby, and her (temporarily) elevated celeb status -- but they will come when she's in her 30's with a teenager, wondering why she never got to be a kid.

I suspect Britney was so quick to get married and have babies because she wanted a vacation from work, and she wanted intimacy, and she wanted to seek refuge in that holy sphere of the Idealized Woman. But it backfired, because the airbrushed version of motherhood and domesticity is not the reality, and people lose interest too.

I hope JLS doesn't make the same mistake of thinking that keeping her baby will automatically transform her life into something beautiful and meaningful, not to assume she does. Either way I wish her and her new family the best of luck.

someone needs to tie those spear's girls tubes. its high time they stop pissing in the gene pool.

that being said, i dont ever think having a child at 16 is a responsible thing to do. adoption or abortion is the responsible thing to do, i dont care how much money you have.

she, along with her sister, set a horrendous example for those who look up to them. clearly, their mother has either completely neglected to have the birds and the bees talk with her, or shes just an idiot. at least we know who wont be getting "parent of the year award".

clearly, this happens to thousands of girls every year, but i hardly think this example of keeping the baby and raising it yourself is a good example to set for those other teens who happen to make the same mistake.

also, someone needs to start scrutinizing the father i agree. i dont think the age difference is an issue, i had a boyfriend who was 4 years my senior, but he should be held just as responsible for this mess.

My mom told me about sex when I was 7. Before that I thought that people automatically had a baby when they got married. When I found out my aunt had a baby before she was married, it BLEW MY MIND. So I asked, and she told me.
I didn't grow up being afraid of TEH SEX, and I also knew to use protection religiously (no pun intended) when I became sexually active.

The website teenpregnancy.org released a statement about this (http://www.teenpregnancy.org/JLS.pdf) which has an interesting take on the age difference issue. Namely, that a three year age difference in your teens statistically relates to other issues, like unplanned pregnancy and coercion.

erinelizabeth-- "But if I were a parent, I wouldn't want to have that talk at 8 or 9, which I'm sure make up some of the audience."

Dear lord, really? You wouldn't tell a kid how babies are made when they were EIGHT? I mean, it's one thing to not talk about sex but the questions this will raise are no different than the questions that parents face when Aunt Susie or their best friend's mommy get pregnant. I understood how babies grew when I was five and I understood the concept of menstruation by eight, certainly.

Also, I think the only reason there is no discussion of the father is that he's not famous. If a male actor got a 16-year-old girl pregnant, there would be a lot of discussion about is-he-the-father, then interveiws with the "poor put upon girl," etc; either that or a big coverup. JLS can't really cover this up; she's going to show eventually, and her private life is too public. But the fact that the focus is on her and not on her boyfriend is just because no one would care about a headline that cries out "CASEY ALDRIDGE IMPREGNATES CHILD STAR." They'd think, who the hell is that?

However, if he leaves her or refuses to help her raise the child, you can bet the news will be all over it.

i dont ever think having a child at 16 is a responsible thing to do. adoption or abortion is the responsible thing to do, i dont care how much money you have.

Um...wow. Ethnocentric, much?

someone needs to tie those spear's girls tubes. its high time they stop pissing in the gene pool.

Wait... What?!

That's... I... But...
Christ on a cracker, I don't even know what to say. That's... incredible.

that being said, i dont ever think having a child at 16 is a responsible thing to do. adoption or abortion is the responsible thing to do, i dont care how much money you have.

I'm with Emily- that strikes me kind of judgemental. It may not be the norm in our country, and I'd agree that it's probably very difficult to do here, but to say that it's not responsible? Why? Because it's difficult? Because it can have serious long-term implications? Because... why, exactly? I honestly don't know enough about her to even feel remotely comfortable passing judgement on her, but it's not just money that matters when you're talking about having a child- it's about support of all different types. Financial, emotional, physical... I'm sure that many of us know people who:

1. Became parents as teens.
-or-
2. Were the products of teen pregnancies.

she, along with her sister, set a horrendous example for those who look up to them. clearly, their mother has either completely neglected to have the birds and the bees talk with her, or shes just an idiot.

Yes, because those are the only two ways that people get pregnant. I'm glad to know that every teen girl who gets pregnant is either an idiot or has a lousy parent. Thank you.

clearly, this happens to thousands of girls every year, but i hardly think this example of keeping the baby and raising it yourself is a good example to set for those other teens who happen to make the same mistake.

Maybe her top priority in deciding how to deal with her pregnancy isn't "what will other people think?" Which, you know, I think is probably a good thing. Because, quite frankly, what other people think, and what kind of example she might be setting for other people are pretty lousy reasons to make a life decision like this.

I guess I read "take responsibility" as simply a reference to her decision to publicly admit her pregnancy, rather than trying to hide it or dodge the press a la Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Lopez. It's the same kind of thing they say when, for example, a celebrity admits to having a drug problem.

I'm annoyed people jump to the conclusion she was irresponsibly not using birth control, though. Sometimes people forget to take their birth control pills, sometimes there are mishaps with condoms, many people don't know antibiotics interfere with birth control (and doctors rarely tell you this). Mistakes can happen, and part of being responsible enough to handle sexual activity is being prepared to handle that outcome, whether by abortion, adoption, or parenthood.

Why are so many people jumping to the conclusion that she wasn't using birth control? I know plenty of people who have gotten pregnant in spite of taking the appropriate precautions; there is no such thing as 100% effective birth control. Assuming people only get pregnant because they were being irresponsible doesn't do anything to change the negative image we have of unexpected pregnancies in this country.

That being said, it's also entirely possible she wasn't using birth control. But let's not judge her anyway.

Strangely enough, I read it as "responsible" being admitting the situation and moving on with it, rather than hiding it or the like.

*shrug* Perhaps I'm not extreme enough at times.

The harping on the age difference is a little silly. As pointed out before, these two could've gone to school together (and I believe I read that they did). There are millions of perfectly healthy relationships where the two people aren't the exact same age. It's seriously not a big deal. My husband and I have been together for nearly 10 years, starting when I was 16 and he was 20. There was not 'trolling' for easy sex going on (except perhaps on my part) and implying that is all that's going on is insulting to 16 and 17 year old girls (legally able to give consent in many states) who can actually make some decisions for themselves.

I think Jamie-Lynn's real problem is one she shares with her whole family: she's an idiot.

I found it really reassuring to read that she went to a doctor on her own and waited several weeks to tell her mom and other people the news so that she could figure out what SHE wanted to do. It's obviously not an ideal situation, but she seems to actually be making the decision to keep the baby on her own and not because of outside pressure [minus, you know, whatever pressure her upbringing engrained in her]. But her actions after she found out she was pregnant, as she reports them, makes it sound like she was considering abortion and didn't want other people's opinions until she decided what she wanted.

I agree with sara and Liz M in that one should not jump to conclusions about JLS's birth control usage/lack thereof. I was on the pill, had to go on antibiotics, and whoops, now I have a five month old (who I absolutely love by the way.) It happens.

I just hope Jamie Lynn has enough self-possession to have the strength to make decisions that are right for her, and I hope the people that are involved in her life are supportive without being coercive. I don't care how much money she has, emotionally she's going to be going through some rough times. The money is going to help her provide for the material needs of her child, but she is still going to have to learn to cope with being a parent (especially if she wants to avoid ending up like her sister.) I hope the father is involved, too; I wish the media was focusing more on the fact that there was another person involved in this, but I agree with some statements above to the effect that he's probably largely absent from media coverage due to his lack of fame.

jumping in late,

I agree that I don't think Nickelodeon is really being judgmental against JL Spears, seeing as having the child and taking care of it is being "responsible". That's the decision she's made so that's what they have to go with. We can guess that if she'd had an abortion we probably wouldn't be even talking about it now, unless it leaked and then that's private medical information so Nickelodeon would have issued a statement to the effect of "that's her business," or something like it. And then if there had been photos of her coming out of a clinic, unless it says, "Abortion Only" you really wouldn't have proof of why she was there so the network couldn't really remark about it. And if JL Spears would have put it up for adoption then they might have said the same thing about being responsible, but then you'd get people crying and upset that she *does* have the money to take care of it so why is she giving it away?

( note, I'm at home for holiday and on dial up so if anyone responds to me I might not get back until way later, if I use the computer at all.)

i was being facetious about the pissing in the gene pool. however, i think its obvious that like as pull_rank stated above, her whole family is not exactly entirely together upstairs. do i really appreciate people who clearly have zero parenting abilities procreating? no not really. sorry.

do i think its irresponsible to have a child at 16? yes. no amount of arguing is going to change my position on that. i am adopted, and my biological mother was probably a teen mother. i think she made a correct choice, (abortion is also a fine choice in this matter-just so happens she didnt). never under any circumstance do i think its ok.

in regards to the money comment, my point was that there mere fact that you HAVE enough money to raise a child is in no way necessarily a good reason to have it.

if you are a star of a childrens tv show,. you have put yourself in the position of being looked up to, and should act accordingly.

also, to have a tell all "i am pregnant at 16" interview in a gossip rag is not something i consider to be the beginnings of good parenting. she has a contract to have a full photoshoot with ok for 1 million dollars when she has the kid, so do i really think that whoring your child out for money the first chance you get is the hallmark of responsibility? no sorry i dont.

i think its clear that the entire family isnt exactly the epitome of class and good judgement, two aspects i do not appreciate being passed on to the next generation. (she had a live in boyfriend when she was 16-um what?!!!) all that is happening here (or will most likely happen here-i hope not for the kids sake) is another messed up kid with a messed up life. much like her sisters kids will end. there is a precedent here people, and its not a good one, are we completely blind to that fact?

P.S. before I log off:

I think it would have been totally different had Nickelodeon's statment said, "she's doing the responsible thing, which in that case would mean that having the baby is the only "responsible" action to take for her. IMHO.

they say they met at church.

i also agree that we can't assume they were irresponsible with birth control, but it is a tempting assumption to make because the whole spears camp has eagerly gobbled up and passed on ignorant, irresponsible advice, from following the president into war obediently to counting on abstinence-only rhetoric as a form of b.c. they are the poster family for how important it is to think ahead!

they are the poster family for how important it is to think ahead!

No kidding. If the Spears parents had thought ahead to the extent of wondering "Hmm. You know, maybe it's not the best thing for our daughter's emotional health to market her virginity and turn her into an overhyped sex symbol for pervy older men like Bob Dole. Maybe we shouldn't do that," they would all be a bit better off.

I actually think it's pretty ok to "jump to the conclusion" that Jamie Lynn wasn't using birth control--she doesn't mention it once in the interview and she simply says "It's better to wait, but I can't be judgmental because of what I did"--the same abstinence-only message that helps get girls pregnant at 16. Why not even a mention of contraception? Probably because Spears wasn't using any.

I like what the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregancy had to say, and I'm definitely going to use this event to have the first of many sex talks I plan to have with my 9-year-old sister. I'm glad to be going home for break--I don't really trust my parents to handle these things...

just to add--in the interview she says that she took 2 weeks without telling anyone to decide what she wanted to do. If that's the case, I really commend her for weighing all the options on her own before bringing everyone else's interests. I just wish there were better options!

The sad thing is she isn't even old enough to be enjoying sex yet.

Or legally having it...

I am not shocked, and I am not going to criticize her for her age or her lineage. She is obviously an emancipated minor. In Hawaii, she would legally be one, simply by being pregnant. My surprise was reading that this star of "Zoey 101" was the younger sister of Britney that is sometimes mentioned. I now see there is a remarkable resemblance.

I see nothing odd in a 16 year old being pregnant. In my local high schools, which we visited as nursing students, there are pregnant girls as young as 14. The schools have a special program to help them maintain their health and train them to be parents (if they plan on giving birth), and for any father who joins them. I would prefer my own daughter finish school first, though.

"I don't understand why 'responsibility' is even brought up."

I agree that doing anything other than running away (which is obviously impossible for a woman, or such a public figure) is taking responsibility. She is making a very adult decision no matter what she does, including having sex.

I know this is not what Disney meant, particularly in the way they may handle her career prospects or her "upcoming" book, but if she decides to keep the baby after it is born, she is opening herself up to a near 19 year commitment (including caring for herself while pregnant), which may have lasting effects on her career plans. It would also be responsible for the father to share in childcare or providing financially for at least the next 18 years, no matter how well-off the Spears family may be.

[Oh, so the 19 year old boyfriend actually lives with the family. Rather bold, I'd say. "they say they met at church." . . . Gee.]

Is possibly being a SAHM "better" than maybe 19 years as a popular actress or singer with or without the added responsibility of caring for a child? No. But it's not my business.

"Or if it is an issue, what about the 'responsibility' of the parents, teachers, other adults, etc. to teach a 16 yr-old about sex, contraceptive, diseases, and consequences?"

I have no reason to believe Ms. Spears is ignorant in any way, or that the adults in her life were remiss. [Oh, I see the man lives with them, and the mother was "surprised." Well, I don't know, then.]

"Ugh, you'd think the rich & famous could hire someone to shove a pill down their throats once a day."

I thought modern womanhood was about having a choice. I don't judge even a pregnant 14 year old local school girl who did not use protection with her boyfriend. In that school program, as nurses or adults, we're supposed to help girl care for themselves, and encourage the fathers - deadbeat *cough* deadbeat - to join them, IF giving birth is the decision they make. Why is this girl expected or required to take the Pill? Because she is underage with a successful career? There is the possibility (I don't know the story) it was planned.

"The sad thing is she isn't even old enough to be enjoying sex yet."

I am not in any way encouraging pedophilia, but how old is old enough, for the modern woman? In some of those progressive countries I like to mention, where women have greater equality, the age of consent is as low as 12* or 14. It looks like the age in Louisiana is 17.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_consent#Ages_of_consent_in_various_countries
http://www.avert.org/aofconsent.htm

Canada* 12/14/18
France: 15
Germany: 14/16
Finland: 16
Iceland: 14 (15?)
Netherlands: 16
Norway: 16
Sweden: 15

*The slashes apparently represent exceptions for age of partner

Speaking of sex at 12: In my public school job in Japan, there was a girl who was involved with a 25 year old man* since the age of 11 (6th grade). She was pregnant by 12 prior to 7th grade, and had an abortion, probably against her will.

Her family, or cultural values (being a pregnant student at any age is scandalous in Japan, and nearly all such girls either drop out or get abortions), shamed her into being absent from junior high school for about two entire years, missing out on an important part of her mental and social development. Please note that when the girl was attending school upon entrance, and again shortly before graduation - 9th grade in Japan - the teachers did not judge her (though her progress was occasionally discussed at staff meetings, and it was a practice for teachers to visit the homes of non-attendees for school lessons and social calls), and outwardly at least, other students related to her like normal. I was encouraged to see her socializing with her old friends, acting like an ordinary 12 or 15 year old.

*Now this man is a freakin' perv, 25 with a girl of 11. I don't know his relationship to the family, but he was not put in jail. The family planned to allow the girl to marry the man (she wanted to) when she reached the Japanese legal age of 16. That was about 12 years ago, so I do not know the outcome.

And it isn't my business.

@ A male:

feminisim *is* about choice, and i don't advocate manditory b.c. for young girls, but we're also talking about children here. 16 is young, i won't say too young to have sex, but young enough that parents should still involve their wider perspective in her health care and lifestyle decisions. it's called parenting.

it's a cop out to say parents would be oppressing young girls by participating in their reproductive activity. what JLS needed, among honest information, b.c. access, and a little credit, is a future to aspire to that is as attractive as being another celebrity MILF.

unfortunately i sense she wasn't enouraged to do much more than showboat and smile. if girls aren't raised to be amitious and original, they usually fill that void with the default ideals: a perfect girlfriend, wife, mother, etc.

i don't mean to use a specific person as an allegory for the whole cultural phenom, bc that's unfair to this family, but they are kind of putting themselves out for dissection by selling their "scandals" to the tabs.

oh male, age of consent has nothing to do with enjoyment!
When Liz said, "The sad thing is she isn't even old enough to be enjoying sex yet." what she means is that most women don't begin to understand their bodies sexually and have orgasm until they are in their twenties.

When a person isn't fully cognitively developed until their mid-twenties, it is hard to be happy about of "respectful" of the decisions they make that will effect their lives and the lives of their children for...well, forever.

It looks like her mother was missing something, and I know nothing of her father, but if the parents had been "responsible," and we could agree that she had "informed," would that make her situation any different to readers?

[I'm deliberately missing a lot of information here, because I have no personal interest in the Spears family, I have no hint it is an exploitative or violent relationship, it sounds like the father is around . . . and it's not my business.]

My own daughter is 7, however, and I will play a role in my kids' (son 9) lives. I won't like it, but if I find my daughter is sexually active at 14, say, I'll talk to her (she'll know the biology already), and get her bc if she is not already on it, and I can't force her to take them or use condoms, any more than I can force someone in the hospital. I'll try to talk to the boy (if male) as well. I'll have a similar talk with my son when he notices girls (or boys - I assume by about 12), which will include "taking responsibility."

At this point when I have nothing to fear, I like to believe I'll be open minded enough to support either of my children as teens with kids (or wanting abortions) or long term partners of their own. I am completely unconcerned with possible "scandal." I just hope I'll be able to afford it. And I'll continue saving for college just the same.