Palin says her teenage daughter is pregnant

One third of the nation's teens get pregnant by age 20, the highest rate among fully industrialized nations, according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancies. After a 15-year-long decline in the teen birth rate -- attributed to a combination of more contraception and less sex -- the rate rose 3 percent in 2006, according to the nonpartisan group.

Bill Albert, the group's chief program officer, said the reasons for the rise are unclear. But he said it would be "pretty naive to think that things like 'Juno' and Jamie Lynn Spears don't shape the social script. They certainly do."

Asked if he was concerned that the Bristol Palin pregnancy would have a similar impact, Albert said he hoped the matter would prompt more parents to talk with their children about the negative impact of unplanned pregnancies. While he said he was sure that the Palins would provide financial and emotional support, he said many other teens in similar situations do not as well. Sixty percent of pregnant teens do not finish high school and many struggle financially for the rest of their lives as a result of a lack of education and resources, Albert said.

"While we want to wish her the best, the fact of the matter is most young woman in similar situations don't succeed," Albert said.

Republican social conservatives balanced their reaction today, expressing concern about out-of-wedlock teenage pregnancy, but applauding the Palins' support for their daughter to have the child. The issue was a sensitive one because many social conservatives simultaneously support abstinence until marriage, while also voicing strong support for unmarried women to give birth in most circumstances.

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said in a statement that "teenage pregnancy has become all too common in today's society regardless of a family's economic or social status" while congratulating the Palins for "choosing life in the midst of a difficult situation."

James Dobson, the anti-abortion leader of Focus on the Family who exulted over the Palin pick, said in a statement yesterday that the Palins should be commended "for not just talking about their pro-life and pro-family values, but living them out even in the midst of trying circumstances."

As Alaska's first-term governor, Palin criticized the overturning of a law requiring a parent's permission before a child can have an abortion and suggested a constitutional amendment in its place.

The revelation of her daughter's pregnancy came at a time when the Republican Party continues to be riven over the issues of abstinence, abortion, and contraception.

Today, GOP convention delegates adopted a platform that urges unmarried teenagers to abstain from sex. "We renew our call for replacing 'family planning' programs for teens with increased funding for abstinence education, which teaches abstinence until marriage as the responsible and expected standard of behavior," says the platform, which also declares there is a "moral obligation" to help women who have unplanned pregnancies.

McCain voted against a 2005 proposal by Democrat Hillary Clinton that would have provided $100 million to combat teenage pregnancy.

Some social conservatives, including Palin, oppose abortion even in cases of rape and incest. McCain has previously argued for such exceptions. His pick of Palin over two prospects who favored abortion rights -- former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge and Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut -- was viewed as a nod to anti-abortion forces in the Republican Party.

Palin was introduced as McCain's running mate on Friday with an emphasis on her anti-abortion credentials, highlighted by her decision to give birth in April to her son Trig despite learning when she was four months pregnant that the child had Down syndrome. Last March, when she announced that she was seven months pregnant, the reaction in the Alaska media was one of astonishment. Newspaper stories quoted Palin's staff as saying they did not realize she was pregnant.

Upon the announcement of Palin's vice presidential candidacy, the rumors surfaced in emails and on some liberal blogs suggesting Palin had not been pregnant, but was hiding her daughter's pregnancy.

Bristol Palin, a high school senior, appeared at the Friday rally in Dayton, Ohio, holding Trig, but was not on stage at events over the weekend.

"Life happens in families," Steve Schmidt, McCain's chief strategist, told reporters today in St. Paul. "I think that if people try to politicize this, the American people will be appalled by it."

Democrat Barack Obama, noting that his mother gave birth to him when she was 18 years old, denied today that his campaign had anything to do with spreading the rumors.

"This shouldn't be part of our politics, it has no relevance to Governor Palin's performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president, and so I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories,'' Obama told reporters in Michigan. "People's families are off limits, and people's children are especially off limits."