16 and Pregnant

A new study by the Public Religion Research Institute set out to determine how people's moral values impact their views on abortion. It found that knowing someone who has had an abortion and watching either 16 and Pregnant or Teen Mom on MTV significantly increase the likelihood a person will support legal abortion.

Both knowing someone who has had an abortion and watching a specific person on TV deal with an unwanted pregnancy give abortion more context. It's not surprising that when the debate is less hypothetical and more concrete, more people favor a woman's right to choose. Let's take a closer look at how these reality shows specifically shape the public's view, according to this new survey:

• 65 percent of Americans who have seen 16 and Pregnant or Teen Mom support legal abortion in all or most cases, compared to 56 percent of the general public.
• 48 percent of those who have watched say abortion is morally acceptable, compared to 40 percent of the public.
• 65 percent of those who have watched the shows say health care professionals in their communities should provide abortions, compared to only 34 percent of the general public.

With the tabloid covers and pseudo-celebrity status bestowed on the teen moms, MTV has taken heat for glamorizing teen pregnancy. Do you think this study makes a positive case for the shows?

If you glance at a newsstand, you know MTV's 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom are fodder for the tabloids, but do the teen-pregnancy reality shows also make good teaching material? The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy thinks so. Considering the popularity of the show, the group believes adults who work with teens should use 16 and Pregnant as a learning tool. They've created discussion guides along with MTV and StayTeen.org to help.

According to The National Campaign's research, 82 percent of teens think the show helps them better understand the challenges of teen pregnancy and parenthood, while 15 percent think it glamorizes teen pregnancy. At the sex::tech conference in San Francisco last weekend, producers of the show, as well as representatives from The National Campaign, discussed what they think are the benefits of the show, in front of a skeptical audience. MTV producer Dia Sokol Savage called herself an "inadvertent activist" against teen pregnancy, while producer Morgan J. Freeman avoided an audience question about how much the teen mom stars are paid.

Find out more about how the show is used for sex ed, when you keep reading.

Kim Kardashian and her gorgeous gaggle of sisters may capitalize on the fact that sex sells, but she doesn't think teens should be getting pregnant and raising children. Kardashian recently posted her opinion on her blog. She said:

I saw a story about a Memphis high school where 90 young female students were either pregnant or have given birth this year! I just couldn’t believe this and I find it so sad and disturbing. It seems that shows like Teen Mom are all of a sudden making teen pregnancy seem cool in the eyes of young girls. The kids from these shows are all over the news, even on the covers of magazines, and have been become almost like celebrities, but girls, these are not people you should idolize!

While the 30-year-old makes a valid point, do her actions — posing for everything from Playboy to bikini ads — speak louder than her advice?

Not all teens who get pregnant become moms. Some young women choose to put their children up for adoption, and others terminate their pregnancies. While MTV has explored the expectant phase, mothering, and the process of adoption, next week the network will cover abortion with No Easy Decision. According to EW:

The special, airing Dec. 28 at 11:30 p.m., will follow one former 16 and Pregnant subject, Markai, as she wrestles with the decision after becoming pregnant for a second time. Dr. Drew Pinsky will also talk with young women who, like 27 percent of teens who end up with unplanned pregnancies, have chosen to end them. MTV sources say the documentary will tackle all sides of the issue, including the importance of contraception and the devastating effects of facing such a decision.

Will you tune in?
Photos copyright 2010 MTV

• MTV will air controversial special about teen abortion — College Candy
• Facebook COO explains glass ceiling holdup — Lemondrop
• Flowchart helps you figure out what your man got you for Christmas — The Frisky
• I married the Grinch: How we make it work — YourTango
• "I get too wet" — Em & Lo
• Do you and your guy sleep in separate bedrooms when you go home for the holidays? — Glamour
• The second-wedding dilemma — Huffington Post

Photo copyright 2010 MTV