Mayor: No media at pregnancy meetings

GLOUCESTER, Mass., Aug. 6 (UPI) -- The mayor of Gloucester, Mass., wants to bar the news media from proposed meetings to discuss an epidemic of teenage pregnancy in the town.

The school committee plans to discuss whether that can be done legally at its next meeting, The Boston Globe reported.

Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk said that people will be able to talk more freely if they know reporters aren't present. She said that the discussion will include issues like pregnancy prevention.

The three planned meetings scheduled for September are to be run by the Public Conversations Project, a non-profit organization that has volunteered its services. Two meetings would be for parents and one for teenagers.

"It's raising awareness in the community," Kirk said. "This isn't just a school issue; it's not just a city issue. It's also about families

taking responsibility and providing them with awareness."

The 17 teen pregnancies in the city became a national story when Time magazine said that some of the expectant mothers had had a pregnancy pact. Local officials, including Kirk, have discounted that story.