|
Pregnant Mass. teen says there was no pact
2008-06-24
GLOUCESTER, Mass. - One of the girls who became pregnant at Gloucester High School this year denied Tuesday there was any pact among them to have children, saying instead they decided to help each other make the best of their situations. Lindsey Oliver rebutted the principal's claim that a sharp increase in teen pregnancies -- 17 compared to a typical four -- was in part because several girls planned to get pregnant so they could raise their babies together. "There was definitely no pact," Oliver told "Good Morning America." "There was a group of girls already pregnant that decided they were going to help each other to finish school and raise their kids together. I think it was just a coincidence." Oliver, 17, said she became pregnant by accident and that she and her 20-year-old boyfriend, Andrew Psalidas, a community college student, were using birth control. The couple was in New York and could not be immediately reached for comment. Psalidas's father, Charles Psalidas, said his son would not talk to any other reporters because he'd made an exclusive interview agreement. The couple appeared on the entertainment news TV show "Inside Edition" on Tuesday. City officials have been reeling for a week since Principal Joseph Sullivan told Time magazine that girls had gotten pregnant on purpose, celebrating with high-fives and plans for baby showers when they learned in the school health clinic they were expecting. Sullivan has not spoken publicly about his comments and has failed to respond to repeated interview requests. Mayor Carolyn Kirk on Monday denied any pact existed. "Any planned blood-oath bond to become pregnant -- there is absolutely no evidence of," Kirk said. Sue Todd, chief executive of Pathways for Children, which runs the high school's onsite day care center, said Tuesday there was no pact. Time magazine reported in its online edition Monday that Todd said June 13 that a social worker had heard of the girls' plans as early as last fall. Todd denies the Time report. "At no time have I stated to anyone that our social worker had knowledge of this. I have stated the opposite," Todd told The Associated Press. "If anyone would be aware of this pact being real it would be us because we run the program." Time spokesman Ali Zelenko said the magazine stands by its story.
| 
