The story coming out of Gloucester, Massachusetts this week is that local high school administrators have begun to notice unusually high numbers of girls coming into the Gloucester High School clinic for pregnancy tests. At first, the sharp rise in teen pregnancy in this New England fishing town was dismissed as a temporary fluke. But by the time the school's nurse practitioner realized she had administered 150 pregnancy tests between October and May, she knew something had to be done about the suddenly looming baby boom. In her view, prescribing contraceptives was the answer. But many parents and even the Gloucester mayor disagreed with her, so the school nurse resigned in public protest of their opposition to what she saw as the only logical solution. Why so much community confidence that contraceptives wouldn't solve Gloucester's teen-pregnancy problem? Because as school officials and parents began asking questions, it became apparent that the local teen pregnancy spike wasn't all that accidental. In fact, the school principal noted that as tests were confirmed positive, many of the teens reacted by high-fiving each other, and tests with negative results elicited more disappointment than relief. Eventually, nearly half of the expectant mothers, all of whom were 16 or younger, admitted to having set out to become pregnant. Why? Officials may never have a satisfactory answer, but according to one former schoolmate the now-pregnant girls were looking for unconditional love and they believed a baby would provide it. Though a vote is on the school agenda to decide whether contraceptives will be provided at Gloucester High School in the future, it is difficult to see how anyone will actually convince teens like those in the school's 2007-2008 'Pregnancy Club' to use them. That is, unless officials see themselves physically force-feeding birth control pills to high-school students. Logically, you can lead a girl to The Pill but you can't make her swallow it. Obviously any solution will have to address much deeper issues than birth control, and some searching questions will need to be asked: Were these girls looking for unconditional love? Did they believe they might receive it from a baby? If so in need themselves that they have nowhere to turn for love, how capable will these girls be of providing the nurturing care and responsive attention that a baby needs to grow and develop? Why was a father's influence seen as so superfluous to a baby's needs that the boys who provided the necessary DNA don't seem to figure at all in the future envisioned by the young, expectant mothers? Is it possible we are leaving some important gaps in the education of society's future families? | 
