Bristol Palin Campaigns Against Teen Pregnancy
April 7, 2010— -- Bristol Palin hopes people will pay attention to her, but this time for the right reasons.
Palin, the oldest daughter of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, is a teen ambassador for the Candie's Foundation and stars in a new public service campaign for the foundation to raise awareness about teen pregnancy.
Bristol Palin became pregnant in 2008 while she was still a high school student.
"I just want to let teens know how really hard this is and how difficult it is to be a teen parent," Palin said on "Good Morning America" today.
While Palin said she is blessed to have a supportive family, they are not at "her disposal" to help with her 15-month-old son, Tripp. She said being a single mom is challenging.
"Just being 100 percent responsible for another person and having my childhood pretty much taken away from me with having to provide for him and just taking care of him all the time," Palin said.
In a video message Palin is seen asking what would happen to her if she did not have the support of her family. She urges other teens to "pause before you play."
"It could [mean] pause and go get a condom, or pause and think about your life. And it even could be pause and wait until marriage," Palin, who earlier this year said she would remain celibate until marriage, said.
Neil Cole, founder of the Candie's Foundation, said the PSA will hopefully make teens stop and think about the message.
"We are hoping to just reach teenagers. They are smart and hopefully they will listen and wait to have a baby later in life," Cole said.
Advocates say Palin's push for abstinence complements similar campaigns for contraception.
"Bristol Palin is a very high-profile teen mother, so when she speaks about these issues, I think a lot of people are going to listen," said Sarah Brown, chief executive officer of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.
