Inspired by Sarah Palin: If a teenager gets pregnant should they be encouraged to get married?

Question

From a non-religious perspective I would say no. Teenager marriages rarely work out. If my child wanted to get married, I would encourage them to do so after they finished school

What do Christian family values recommend? Should they marry before the baby is born?

Answer 1

Well it will be even funnier when they get divorced. Beyond the comedy aspect, I could care less. From her daughters point of view, well its sometimes better to make mistakes early on. There again I got married at 20 and have been shackled for the last 12 years!

If it works out then great for those two. I don't think this issue should really be a big one, Her daughter needs her privacy surrounding the issue. Sarah Palin herself can't watch over her daughter every hour in the day. Though I doubt the daughter was ever taught about effective contraception.  

Answer 2

I would also probably discourage marriage - although this may be the best decision for this young couple.

I have been thinking of Obama's statement that he would not want his daughter "punished with a baby" - what would he do in Palin's situation?

No, getting married doesn't make the sin "okay" but it would be great if the marriage works out and the baby has two parents.............that would be ideal in this sad situation.

Answer 3

These young marriage have an extraordinary divorce rate.

She could have finished the pregnancy and given the baby up for adoption.

Answer 4

The thing is you don't know the details in their situation.

Today's society doesn't call for a woman to get married, and I would think that the last thing Sarah Palin would want is for her daughter to rush into a loveless marriage. It could be a breeding ground for one news scandal after another.

d**k Cheney's daughter is g*y. Everyone knew and no one made a big deal about it.

Why would this be any different?

If the girl loves the guy and the guy loves her, there ain't a lot mom and dad can do about it.

Answer 5

The Bible says that s*x before marriage is sin.

Getting married is only advised when a pregnant teenager would have married the guy anyway even if she wasn't pregnant.

If the couple are Christians, and yes Christians sin from time to time, usually what's best for the baby is for their parents to get married or put the baby up for adoption.

Answer 6

My cousin did.  Its working out for her because they have parental support that is allowing him to finish school.

I think the most unselfish thing you can do for that child is to give it up for adoption, but if you have the means and support to take care of the child and willing to give it a chance then I guess thats up to you.

Noone said anything about being forced to married.  People can forget how strong willed and stubborn 17 year olds can be.  Could it be this is what they actually want to do?

zebra

do you really think this girl didnt know what a condom was?????

Answer 7

Palin thinks that 2 wrongs make a right.

Answer 8

Reality denial is a very powerful drug.

It's a virgin birth, yes?

Answer 9

I guess it depends on the couple.  I have two cousins who got pregnant as teenagers.  They both married the respective father.  One has been married 28 years and the other one ~33 years.  I don't approve of pre-marital s*x, but I give them a lot of credit for loving and staying faithful to each other and getting married to give their children a stable family life.

(Oh, and they are not religious.)

Answer 10

What's this wimpy, pinko "encouraged" stuff.

They should be REQUIRED to get married--and if they refuse they should be declared mentally unfit and institutionalized until the baby is born so the child can be given to good decent people who will raise it in a proper Christian manner.

Then the "mother" should be sterilized so that she doesn't waste my tax dollars because  she can't keep her legs closed.

Answer 11

I wouldn't recommend it.  Just because they had s*x doesn't mean they love each other or are each mature enough to be married.

It would be great if both families helped support and love the baby, so the baby can grow up without emotional baggage, but such a situation is rare.  

Answer 12

Just because you force them to get married doesn't mean the problem will fix itself. Its stupid to do that. I mean, didn't they already "sin" from the Christian perspective? does getting married revoke the sin?

Answer 13

I guess the abstinence lessons didn't work out.

Answer 14

NO!!!  Absolutely not.  Forcing marriage only adds to the problem.

It figures that an anti-choice homophobic creationist would only see marriage as the solution.

Answer 15

I say no as well. They made one mistake getting pregnant why compound this with making the mistake of marrying? Let them finish school, grow up, and learn to be an adult first. Why double the mistakes? What she chooses to do in her family is her business.If her daughter truly loves this young many and they want to marry then that is their concern but forcing marriage no. By the way my mother married at 14 and had her first child a year later. Would I encourage this? No but I cannot judge others

Answer 16

100%, absolute, unequivocal NO.

Answer 17

No. Why follow one mistake with another? The teenage years are for exploring life and learning about options, not for raising families or dealing with the complexity of marriage. I'm a Christian, and I advocate the teaching of scientifically accurate methods of birth control so fewer people are forced into these types of situations in the first place. If schools would stop wasting money on these "abstinence-only" programs and allow serious birth control information to be openly taught in schools, I think it would definitely help.

Answer 18

Mary got pregnant then got married..

What I really see in this scenario is not the hypocrisy of Palin but the hypocrisy of the people who would vote for the Political left's agenda and then try to make an issue out of this.