All the world is abuzz about Sarah Palin's announcement that her 17 year old daughter is 5 months pregnant. I won't lie by saying that I feel just a little bit of schadenfreude upon watching a woman against both abortion and sex education announce that her 17 year old daughter is pregnant and is going to get married. Clearly a double dose of abstinence-only (school and home) was the wrong message for this young woman, as it is for so many young people.But beyond this, I find myself feeling mostly concerned for Palin's daughter. Under different circumstances, would Bristol have: completed the pregnancy/kept the baby/married the father/acted excited about it? Sadly, we'll never know and Bristol will never have that choice. Her mother had to have known about Bristol's pregnancy the night she decided to accept the offer of the VP slot. In doing so, she immediately subjected a pregnant 17 year old to national media scrutiny and effectively removed Bristol's ability to deal with her pregnancy in any way that was not acceptable to the Republican base. Talk about anti-choice... Being young and pregnant can be hard enough without having to be young and pregnant and deliver and raise a child in the public eye while being held up as a role model for "family values". Adults can't handle that kind of pressure, how will Bristol? Do Bristol and her young fiance have to stay married for as long as her mother might be in office?Additionally, in choosing to run for VP, especially while raising a very small child with special needs, Palin will not be available to help her daughter weather what could be one of the most difficult periods of her life. Research shows that without strong family support, young mothers suffer. Will Bristol be sitting on the sidelines as her classmates graduate from high school while her mother possibly steps up to the second-highest office in the land? As McCain's campaign offered Palin the VP spot, how did thoughts of her young child and her daughter's soon-to-be child weigh on that decision? In leaving Bristol on her own and exposing her to scrutiny no daughter should ever have to face, Palin puts political ambition above family values. I thought the Republican party was against that.For another, equally disturbing perspective, check out BeyondChron.