Why does Sarah Palin hate teenaged mothers?

By Michael J.W. Stickings

It just keeps getting worse and worse for (and about) Sarah Palin as more and more comes out, and we continue to be all over the whole debacle here at The Reaction. (Go to the home page, or, if you're already there, scroll down.) Here's one of the latest developments.

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As you probably know by now, Palin's daughter Bristol, a 17-year old high school student, is pregnant. Though McCain has known about this for some time, the news was conveniently broken by the McCain campaign while the media's attention was on Gustav. No matter, though, for Republicans are rallying around the Palins as if there were no problem at all with this particular teen pregnancy. She's keeping the baby, you see, much to the support of the extremist pro-lifers, Sarah included, who dominate the party. And the father, well, he's just a good ol' boy from Alaska, a Palin sort of guy.

But just what does Sarah Palin think of teen pregnancy? It may be preferable to abortion, but she's a proponent of abstinence, not proper sex education, and certainly not birth control. Which makes her, as an executive, and that's what the GOP's propagandists are stressing, an enabler of teen pregnancy and, more broadly, of unwanted pregnancy, and hence an implicit encourager of abortion. Regardless, if a teenaged mother wants to keep her baby -- that is, a teenaged mother other than Bristol -- she won't be able to count on Governor Palin's support. As The Washington Post is reporting:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin... earlier this year used her line-item veto to slash funding for a state program benefiting teen mothers in need of a place to live.

After the legislature passed a spending bill in April, Palin went through the measure reducing and eliminating funds for programs she opposed. Inking her initials on the legislation -- "SP" -- Palin reduced funding for Covenant House Alaska by more than 20 percent, cutting funds from $5 million to $3.9 million. Covenant House is a mix of programs and shelters for troubled youths, including Passage House, which is a transitional home for teenage mothers.

So if your mother's the governor, and on the Republican presidential ticket, then sure, by all means, you'll get all the support you could ever want or need. But if you're not so fortunate, not so politically valuable, if you're poor or otherwise have nowhere to turn, then, well, screw you.

There are your Palin Family Values. No wonder Republicans love her.