Teen Responsibility and Parenthood

I know this is a touchy subject. I just want you guys to see it from my point of view is all. Comment all you want ... religion, science, what have you ... just wanted to share this heartbreaking story that affects me every day.

I used to think abortion was OK under certain circumstances (like rape) until it hit so close to home. My niece at 14 (who is four years younger than me) got pregnant. We went to go see them in Alabama and I remember talking to her to see if she was keeping the baby.

Being so closely related in age I felt like I could ask her such a thing, that it WAS an issue because she was a teenager and I understood. She said, "It's not right to kill babies."

I felt good knowing this because she is the most scandalous, attention seeking, manipulative person I've ever met in my life. She carried the baby to her 4th month and it was ABORTED! My sister's excuse was, "Well with her health problems she could have died, we didn't wanna take that risk."

I was shocked, to say the least, and torn apart. I thought as soon as you knew you were going to be a mother you would risk your life to keep your child alive? I knew I felt that way. Come to find out my sister and her husband bribed her into doing it because of the housing and financial situation they were in, it was a burden! Literally bribed with clothes and money!

in July another niece of mine was pregnant and I believe in seeing how much attention she got, the "bad seed" decided she wanted that attention, too. In April she gave birth to a little girl about nine and a half months after she met my other niece.

What makes this case any different than the first aborted baby? She still lives with her parents in a two-bedroom apartment with five other people, she still has medical issues and seizures. And everyone absolutely loves this baby. And it's completely healthy, which I'm glad. I would have given anything if she would have given me her baby. Even though I was 18 and not married, it was my great niece or nephew! It's so hard to look my sister in the face when she coos and coddles her what should be second granddaughter. Why did that baby not even get a chance to see the light of day? AND THIS ONE IS SO MUCH MORE PRECIOUS? I want to send her a Hallmark card that says "glad you decided to keep this one."

But I know soooo many people wont go through the steps of not having a baby THAT ARE SOOO EASY TO DO (OR NOT DO), but in an instant can decide to take a life. Some people debate whether or not it's a life. But I guarantee those same people, if you told them they had to take a baby out of a deer and kill it because it would become a nuisance to the ecosystem in the area, they would start bawling. There's so many people that spend their life savings, put their blood and tears into getting somebody else's child that they've never met, and we have trailer trash discarding theirs like it's a beer can left over from the weekend taking up space.

Safe sex is important that's for sure. But I think parents need to bring back the "don't have sex till you're ready to have a baby" because lets face it: The guys like to persuade you to do it without one and though you can't prevent it from happening all the time, at least it won't be because of an ill informed child. It will be because of an irresponsible child. NOT to say there aren't good teen moms out there. They can tell you though—ADULTS CAN TELL YOU—it's just so hard! If you are a teen reading this remember: You have THE REST OF YOUR LIFE TO BE A MOMMY, but a short time to be young and free.

You've seen the "trying to conceive" message boards. How can somebody read those and not feel heartbreak?