- Share This Post
- 0
- submit
- 8
-
Sparkle (0)
As a debate over how--or whether--to educate children about birth control continues to simmer among parents, educators, religious leaders, our BlogHer Voice of the Week takes a storytelling approach to her argument for sex education. A resident OB-GYN in Los Angeles and the blogger behind Chaotic Calm, she observes a girl in her OB triage unit in the post "Babies Having Babies,"
She was 15 years old. She looked like any other youthful teeny bopper, with her silly band bracelets and hot pink nail polish. She should have been at home, in bed, dreaming about the Jonas Brothers, her high school crush, or what she was going to wear to school in the morning. Instead it was 3:00am and she was in our Triage, alone, and 30 weeks pregnant. She sat tearfully on the hospital gurney as the contractions came and went every 3 minutes. Like clockwork.
The 15-year-old girl would give birth prematurely to an at-risk baby alone, without her mother or the baby's father. Given the girl's failure to understand the seriousness of her baby's condition, and her lack of support, the reader can't help but wonder about the child's future. Will the child suffer from cerebral palsy, a potential outcome for a baby born without developing properly? Will the child be physically healthy, but emotionally stunted because his mother can't fully comprehend the responsibilities of motherhood? Will the child grow up and perpetuate the circumstances of ignorance into which he was born? We're left with these questions lingering in our minds.
Regardless of where we fall on the spectrum of belief in condom distribution to minors and early sex education, the scene described by Chaotic Chaos provides another layer of understanding, a medical and sociological perspective. She gives us not only a compelling story to ponder, but also facts, like any good doctor provides a patient. The combination allows us to come to our own conclusions.
Congratulations Chaotic Calm, our BlogHer Voice of the Week! Thanks for your post.
And thanks to everyone for continuing to send in your nominated posts. Remember to nominate individual posts, not entire blogs, and keep them coming! If you want to check out all these posts, check out the BlogHer Voice of the Week archive.
Best,
Jory
For Elisa, Jory, and Lisa, BlogHer Co-founders
Jory Des Jardins writes on business and career topics at BlogHer, and on her personal blog From Here to Autonomy
Image Credit: Polina Sergeeva
