Teens' 'pregnancy pact' disputed

GLOUCESTER, Mass., June 23 (UPI) -- There is no evidence of a so-called pregnancy pact among any of the 17 girls at a Massachusetts high school, the mayor of Gloucester said Monday.

Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk attributed the rash of teen births -- roughly four times the average number of births annually among the school's students -- not to any agreement among the girls but on insufficient health education funding and what she called the "glamorization of pregnancy" by the media, ABC News reported.

"I am not able to confirm the existence of a pact," Kirk told reporters Monday. "Any planned blood oath to become pregnant -- there is no evidence.

"Beyond the statement of the principal, we have no evidence there was a pact. The principal could not remember who told him that."

Gloucester School Board Chairman Greg Verga also said none of the girls had confirmed any pact, although two are pregnant, USA Today reported.

"My gut feeling is that there may have been some sort of pact after the fact -- you know, two girls who are pregnant say they'll stick together," Verga said.

Reports of the alleged pact surfaced following local newspaper coverage on a spike in teen pregnancies.

School Principal Joseph Sullivan told Time magazine eight of the girls agreed "to get pregnant and raise their babies together."

Ray Lamont, editor of the Gloucester Daily Times, says his reporters covering the issue didn't find any pact.