Spears’ reality

AS Robert Lloyd says [“Spears, Pregnant at 16, and ‘101,’ ” Dec. 31], Jamie Lynn Spears is hardly the first teen to become pregnant. I have watched this story develop with fascination because I too was a teen mom as a senior in high school in 1983. Things were very different then in terms of the social environment. After I, an honors student, decided to keep my child, my favorite teacher sadly told me I “could have been someone.” My friends stopped returning my calls. Strangers looked at me with pity and disdain.

What I think is the most remarkable aspect of Ms. Spears’ pregnancy is that she didn’t quietly have an abortion so she could go about her fairy-tale life without complications. Hard reality intruded on her carefully constructed image, and she chose to do what feels right for her and her child rather than what would preserve that illusion. So seriously, who is it who’s acting irresponsibly here? Is it the girl who chose to accept the consequences of her actions, or is it the public that vilifies the girl because her decision forces it to confront the reality that belies the illusion and the hypocrisy that perpetuates it?

Martha Gaie, PhD, RN

Madison, Wis.