Teen Talk

Back in December the news of 16 year old Jamie Lynn Spears gripped the headlines. The younger sister of Britney, Jamie Lynn announced she is pregnant.

In an article published on the TV Guide website 18 year old Carly Schmand wrote, "I am not judging her for her choices; I think that it is perfectly acceptable to have premarital sex."

"The only thing I have to say to Jamie Lynn is that she needs to take responsibility for her actions, because if she wants to continue to be a role model, she needs to prove that she can learn and grow from her mistakes. If not, I suggest, Jamie Lynn, that the next time you plan on having sex, you should invest in some birth control, [like making] sure your boyfriend buys a condom." opines Carly.

I invited my 17 year old niece to respond. Stephanie Hoffmeier made news back in November after she fought to start a pro-life club in her school.

Here is her response:

By Stephanie Hoffmier

Over the past couple of weeks, I’m sure that everyone has heard about Jamie Lynn Spears.

I recently read a TV Guide article titled “Teen to Jamie Lynn Spears: Sex is ok, but Use A Condom”. In the article, Carly Schmand writes “The only thing I have to say to Jamie Lynn is that she needs to take responsibility for her actions, because if she wants to continue to be a role model, she needs to prove that she can learn and grow from her mistakes. If not, I suggest, Jamie Lynn, that the next time you plan on having sex, you should invest in some birth control, [like making] sure your boyfriend buys a condom.”

I disagree with that. Just buying some birth control or her boyfriend using a condom is not good advice. It is not ok to assume that just by wearing a condom you are “safe”. If you want to have “safe sex”, save it until you are married because that’s the only kind of safe sex people can have.
Abstinence is the best way to avoid unwanted pregnancies.

Jamie Lynn has taken responsibility for her actions. In an interview with Ok Magazine, she said “I put myself in this position, an adult position, so I have to act like an adult and take responsibility for what I did." Though I do not support or agree with Jamie Lynn’s decision to engage in sexual activity outside of marriage, I do have a lot of respect for the choice that she made after she found out that she was pregnant; the choice to keep her baby.

There is a lot of pressure on young mothers to just abort their children because that seems like it would be the easy way out. Abortion is not the easy way out. Not only does abortion kill the baby, but it brings emotional, and in most cases, physical damages to the mother.

I have the utmost respect that Jamie Lynn chose to give her baby life. Instead of everyone trying to condemn Jamie Lynn, we need to pray for her. Whats been done is done and there is nothing that anyone can do to change that. We need to pray that GOD will give her guidance and wisdom as she enters into this new arena of life.