The only thing I would criticize is that you're assuming that Palin will force her daughter to raise the child on her own instead of suggesting to have her give up the baby for adoption.
I certainly think that more young mothers should give their children up for adoption, and that it should generally be a pretty viable adoption to abortion. I also do believe that there's no way Palin could let her daughter give her child up: it would look too bad politically.
I also wonder what kind of "life" you think she would be missing out on: going to college, starting having a successful career only to have the biological clock ringing at her at age 30 and then perhaps she'll juggle between career and children to the point until she's forced to choose between focusing on her career or her children and may feel a lot of regret from consequences of the decision?
There have been some studies that show that that teenage mothers do considerably worse in life than those teenagers who did not have children. They're almost twice as likely to remain in the lowest quintile of income (which I'd assume is poverty or thereabouts). They're twice as likely to experience depression. They're half as likely to complete high school. They're three times as likely to live in a household where no one works.
The study also look at some UK data to suggest that the correlation is not a result of causation; even accounting for poverty early in life leading to teenage birth, the outcome later in life was worse.
no subject
I certainly think that more young mothers should give their children up for adoption, and that it should generally be a pretty viable adoption to abortion. I also do believe that there's no way Palin could let her daughter give her child up: it would look too bad politically.
I also wonder what kind of "life" you think she would be missing out on: going to college, starting having a successful career only to have the biological clock ringing at her at age 30 and then perhaps she'll juggle between career and children to the point until she's forced to choose between focusing on her career or her children and may feel a lot of regret from consequences of the decision?
There have been some studies that show that that teenage mothers do considerably worse in life than those teenagers who did not have children. They're almost twice as likely to remain in the lowest quintile of income (which I'd assume is poverty or thereabouts). They're twice as likely to experience depression. They're half as likely to complete high school. They're three times as likely to live in a household where no one works.
One study is here:
http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/repcard3e.pdf
The study also look at some UK data to suggest that the correlation is not a result of causation; even accounting for poverty early in life leading to teenage birth, the outcome later in life was worse.