College Times

Issue date: 6/25/09 Section: Blogs

It seems that money is the answer to everything nowadays, even pregnancy.

The College-Bound Sisters, founded at the University of North Carolina, is trying to stop pregnancy in young girls with a money incentive. Simply put, it is paying one dollar each day to 12-to-18-year old girls who vow not to get pregnant and agree to attend weekly meetings.

Now, I'll be honest, if I was still in high school right now, I would say sign me up right away. Think about it - four years of high school, a dollar each day, that could add up to a nice sum of money come graduation time.

But, at the same time, is that really necessary? Have we really come to that point in society where girls need to be paid to stop them from getting pregnant? Isn't it rewarding enough for a young girl to say that she made it through high school without running into any major complications?

I mean, whether I am getting paid a dollar or not, I'm going to take preventative measures to avoid getting pregnant in high school, and I would hope that most other girls with a decent head on their shoulders would feel the same way.

And from the other perspective, if you're on a mission to sleep with as many men as you can before heading into college, I don't think a dollar is going to stop you from doing so. How many girls are honestly thinking, "I better not have unprotected sex, because if I get pregnant, I won't earn that dollar tomorrow"? And if that is running through your head, you probably have some other issues going on.

So, while I would have appreciated earning an extra few dollars during my high school years for doing nothing out of the ordinary, overall, I think it is a complete waste of the state's funds. Instead, maybe some more time should be focused on teaching sex education. Because, whether parents like it or not, their child is likely to have sex one day, and their seven dollar weekly allowance isn't going to stop them.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools