IN THEORY:

James Dobson, head of the conservative group Focus on the Family, praised GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and her husband “for not just talking about their pro-life and pro-family values, but living them out even in the midst of trying circumstances,” after John McCain’s campaign revealed Palin’s 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, was pregnant and intended to keep the child and marry the father. The campaign announced the pregnancy in an attempt to refute Internet rumors that Bristol Palin gave birth to Sarah Palin’s son, Trig, who has Down Syndrome. The McCain and Barack Obama campaigns said family issues of this nature should be off-limits. Does this represent another low-point in Internet-inspired gossip or is it worthy of discussion given Sarah Palin’s views supporting abstinence-only education and opposition to abortion?

One of the best things that can happen now is for parents to sit down with their teens and say, “Look what can happen if you are not careful.” These teens got caught up in a moment of passion in a small town at the outer edge of America. That young man, Levi, stood on the stage in front of America the other night to take responsibility for getting a girl pregnant.

Unfortunately, most Americans today don’t take responsibility for their actions. Shoot, our government doesn’t do it either. The easiest thing for the McCain-Palin campaign to do would have been to quietly arrange for Bristol to have an abortion, but they didn’t. The campaign is taking the heat along with the responsibility. This issue highlights Sarah Palin’s opposition to abortion even when it would have been politically expedient. No mother can say Sarah Palin doesn’t understand what it is like to have a pregnant teen.

Abstinence-only education is not silence-only education. Just because teens are taught abstinence does not mean they don’t understand the full picture. If you don’t understand the full picture, abstinence doesn’t mean anything anyway.

The question today is better answered by posing the question to the other three candidates: If one of their daughters were pregnant outside of marriage, would the news media question their ability to lead? Clearly the double standard is because Sarah is a woman, and all Americans should be offended by that.

Ric Olsen

Lead pastor, The Beacon

It rep- resents another low point in Internet gossip. James Dobson is right on with this one.

Pastor Dwight Tomlinson

Liberty Baptist Church

Newport Beach

Gov. Palin’s views support abstinence-only education, yet her daughter clearly had not learned that lesson. This is not about Palin’s parenting skills, per se, but it does reflect the fact that abstinence-only education does not work and that her platform is not effective. Had her daughter received a comprehensive sexual education, then she may have avoided pregnancy.

As statistics demonstrate, her daughter may even have chosen to delay sexual intercourse. Because of Palin’s high profile and her strong stance on abstinence, we as the public have to question her views and whether we can support her platform.

They now have to face the real-life challenge that many Americans face: raising children who raise children. Her family’s situation inevitably raises our collective consciousness and mandates that we engage in a national discussion about sex education.

I believe all of us want to curb unintended pregnancies, especially among teens. Educating our kids is the only way we know how to do this. We must pay more attention to what our children learn in school.

If we believe it takes a village, if we believe America’s children are our children, then we need to advocate comprehensive sex education.

The Rev. Sarah Halverson

Fairview Community Church