When Dr. Phil talked to Brittney, she admitted that she had engaged in unprotected sex and Dr. Phil asked her if she got pregnant on purpose.  She said that she hadn’t and had really just made a mistake but Dr. Phil insisted that she did it on purpose.  He asked her about when she told her parents that she was pregnant.  She explained that, upon hearing the news, her parents began yelling and screaming and when they stopped talking to her she went to bed.  At 2am, they came into her room where she was sleeping and began screaming at her again and called her a “spoiled little bitch.”

Dr. Phil talked to the parents and he told them what Brittney had said about them and they admitted that it was pretty much accurate.  He then asked them what they wanted her to do about the pregnancy and they both said that they wanted her to terminate it despite the fact that she was against it.  They described her as being a good girl before all this happened, that she and her mother were like best friends and she was a good student.  Suddenly, they explained, her behavior had changed and she was moody, rude and angry.

During their meeting, Dr. Phil asked Brittney how she planned to take care of herself and a child (since she wanted to keep it) and she said that she didn’t know and was hoping to stay at home until she turned 18.  Dr. Phil mocked her for this comment and said that she only had two options – she’d either give the baby up for adoption or her parents would raise it.

Brittney met with three young women – one who had had an abortion, one who kept her baby and another who had chosen adoption.  She then had to follow the life of a woman who was hoping to adopt a baby so that she could see the process.  He had her meet with adoption agencies too so that she could get familiar with the practices. 

On the follow-up show, Brittney said that she intended to give the baby up for adoption even though she initially wanted to keep it.  At the end of the episode, Dr. Phil confirmed that she had given birth and had, indeed, given the baby to an adoptive couple.

So, now that the facts are all out of the way I would like to share my impressions and I welcome you to voice your opinions in the comments section. 

Dr. Phil first upset me when he insisted that Brittney got pregnant on purpose since she was having unprotected sex.  She said that she just wasn’t thinking.  First of all, not being aware of consequences of their actions is common among adolescents and I’m disappointed that he didn’t take that into consideration.  I was a teen mother myself and I can assure you, almost 16 years later, that I didn’t do it on purpose and I really never believed it could happen to me. 

He really irked me when the parents confirmed that Brittney’s account of how they reacted to the news and he said nothing to them.  Waking her up in the middle of the night by walking into her room, screaming and calling her a bitch is completely unacceptable and borderlines on abusive.  I couldn’t believe he didn’t say anything about that.  Will the parents at home think that these people handled it appropriately since he seemed to be on their side?

The parents, themselves, really upset me.  First they were upset that Brittney had lied to them.  Guess what?  Kids lie to their parents all the time.  It’s disappointing and possibly dangerous but it’s not out of the ordinary – especially when it pertains to sex.  They also said that they were struggling to make ends meet yet they had at least three vehicles and lived in a huge house (and Dr. Phil pointed out that they had to downsize to that palatial home with the marble countertops).  They described Brittney as suddenly being rude, sensitive and angry.  Surprise!  Those are words that basically sum up my three pregnancies as well as those of my friends and family.  Pregnant women are happy one moment, angry the next and then they end it all by crying.  No big mystery there!

The father seemed to completely abandon and reject his daughter and removed himself from even dealing with the situation.  He described it as “her issue.”  Then her mother said that she was looking forward to a little “me time” and that when she goes out in public with her pregnant daughter, she’s embarrassed.  Do you know how scary and hurtful this must have been to Brittney?  Where was the support for this girl?  They withdrew from her when she needed them the most and this was okay?!  A lot of young women manage to keep their babies and live good and healthy lives and it works out best if she has support.

I’m all for options and I think that every woman has to make her own choice and I respect that.  What I don’t respect is how impossible they made one option seem while they pushed adoption on this young girl.

Parents have to support their children and occasionally have to pay for their mistakes.  How they deal with it is up to them.  Brittney was pregnant – she wasn’t on meth, she didn’t drop out of school and she wasn’t drinking and driving.  If she had caused an accident, her parents would have been liable to pay for the damages.  Why were they not liable to help this girl if she kept the baby?

I’m not saying she should have kept her child but I was seriously appalled by how unwilling they were to support her in any decision she made.  It was very disappointing.  What did you think about it?

image: Dr Phil email notification

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