16 and Pregnant

Honestly the age of consent in 31 states is 16, the age which many of these teens are getting pregnant. In these states no one would be prosecuted as there is nothing illegal going on. Also for many states there is such a thing as close-in-age exemption.. meaning as long as they are close in age..(ie it is not a 40 yr old with a 16 year old) then although it is still illegal they will not be prosecuted for it.Also women do get prosecuted for being sex offenders at times, as shown by the news.

"I know at least 7 girls I went to high school with, that set for themselves the goal of getting pregnant by 16, during career day our sophomore year. "Wow. That is not very good goal to set for yourself. And you make a valid point. The smartest choices are not always the most popular, unfortunately. You would think that common sense would prevail but for some people, they only learn once it's too late.

@ caitlin b.
I agree on a few points, but massively disagree on others. You're talking from your own perspective, and that's fine, in fact it's a good thing. You are obviously intelligent, and probably well read, also not bad things to be. However, that only speaks to a small percentage of teenage girls. What intelligence they have, they don't necessarily use when making decisions. Especially in regards to their futures. Most teenage girls don't see beyond their early 20's. For that matter, neither do boys. Long term drawbacks to early parenthood don't really enter into the decision making process. They can say that they understand the consequences, but they really don't. Life is a lot longer than they understand, and a child is a lifetime commitment. They don't always leave the at 18, and then there is always the chance of teenage pregnancy. You can end up with another squalling child before you finish raising the one you have...and so the cycle goes. So here is my point.
Just because avoiding pregnancy is the smart thing to do, doesn't mean it is the popular choice. Putting shows on the air like this one, while deterring girls like you, it's encouragement for insecure girls with no plans past 21 to do something stupid, for a useless 15 min of fame...And if it works, which apparently it does if all these teen mom shows I've been seeing are any gauge, then it will just further the trend to follow in these girls footsteps. While girls like you watch these shows and in turn find the idea repugnant, I know at least 7 girls I went to high school with, that set for themselves the goal of getting pregnant by 16, during career day our sophomore year.