Free Republic

If you’ve ever seen Teen Mom, you know that it in no way glorifies teen parenthood. Those young moms and dads are struggling, and despite the rumors that MTV pays them around $60,000 a season, (which MTV refuses to comment on) many of them are shown relying on government assistance to get by. The young women on the show, as much as their lives are put under the microscope, do get famous in their way.

Children who have sex under the age of 16 should be prosecuted for breaking the law, a senior Tory has said. Shadow children's minister Tim Loughton held out the prospect of criminalising teenage mothers as he warned there were now no consequences for those who had irresponsible underage sex. '[It is] against the law to get pregnant at 14. How many kids get prosecuted for having underage sex? Virtually none. 'Where are the consequences of breaking the law and having irresponsible underage sex? There aren't any.' Asked if was advocating more prosecutions, Mr Loughton said: 'We need to be tougher....

Teenage mothers are being thrown on the career scrap heap because they face so many barriers in getting back into school, the children's charity Barnardo's says. Young women are often left out of school on "spurious health and safety grounds" and feel pressured by their schools not to come back after having had a baby, says the charity.

MOUNDSVILLE - Six John Marshall High School students with infants are expected to participate in a day care program when it begins operation at the school in January. At issue is finding a way to transport both the students and their children to and from the school. On the agenda for the Marshall County Board of Education's consideration this week was granting permission to purchase infant seats to be placed on school buses. The administrator of the West Virginia Partnership to Assure Student Success, who was responsible for requesting the item, was not present at the regular meeting Tuesday to...