Bristol Palin, daughter of former Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, was most pregnant when her mother was running for office. She was 17 at the time, unmarried, with her then- boyfriend in tow (after the birth of their baby, they separated). In May, the Candie's Foundation, a group dedicated to preventing teen pregnancy through the promotion of abstinence education, appointed Bristol as its new teen ambassador.
WeNews commentator, Caroline Johnstoin Polisi, said, "No longer the dewy bride-to-be, now she's the do as I say, not do as I do voice of caution." Amen.
Bristol herself maintains that no matter what she did, she believes abstinence is the way to go. Sorry girl, but you're not exactly a role model, so quit the preaching. More than 750,000 teenagers will become pregnant in the U.S. this year, one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the developed world. In the meantime, American taxpayers have spent $1.5 billion on federal funding for abstinence-only education, between the years 1996 and 2008. Clearly taxpayers' money is being thrown down the drain.
The Center for Reproductive Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union have fought this funding, stating that the abstinence programs are not scientific, but are ideological. Apart from her hypocrisy, Bristol Palin has seemingly become a pawn of those on the right. But then again, we must take into consideration that her mother is not exactly a beacon of liberal thought and enlightenment. The apple didn't fall far from the tree.