Glamour magazine must be doing the happy dance!

In the news today on FOXNews.com:

The nation's teen birth rate has risen for the first time in 14 years, according to a new government report.

The birth rate had been dropping since 1991. The decline had slowed in recent years, but government statisticians said Wednesday it jumped 3 percent from 2005 to 2006.

"It took us by surprise," said Stephanie Ventura of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a co-author of the report.

The birth data for 2006 also showed births to unmarried mothers hit a new record high, and the overall birth rate has climbed to its highest level since 1971.

The teen increase was based on the 15-19 age group, which accounted for about 99 percent of the more than 440,000 births to teens in 2006.

The rate rose to 41.9 live births per 1,000 females in that age group, up from 40.5 in 2005.

So, why am I picking on Glamour magazine (other than the known fact that I abhor the fashion magazines for the damaging messages they send to young women)? In their December issue, believe it or not, they give unwed mothers Bridget Moynahan and Spice Girl Melanie Brown a “Best of 2007” award “Because they remained thrilled about their pregnancies even after their relationships fell apart.” Margery Eagan, columnist for the Boston Herald, wrote a fabulous article entitled, "Single mom's the word," and says Glamour is "a distinctly influential bible to thousands of middle-class teenage girls." In her article she points out that Glamour has glamorized single motherhood by highlighting out-of-wedlock pregnancies such as Moynahan's and Brown's by singling them out as "2007’s “Best Gutsy New Moms”. The message is clear: "They’re heroes. Role models of proud womanhood," she claims. Eagan further says, “cool” is exactly the message Glamour magazine is sending in its December cover story - a sort of trickle-down “isn’t this swell!” intended for young women with neither the money, maturity, nor the skills of a Bridget Moynahan or a Melanie Brown. Yet another example of the cheap brand of "girl power" that bombards our young women on a daily basis.

While I commend these two women for having their babies when many would have opted for abortion, I hardly think we need to be handing them any awards. And before the hate mail starts to trickle in defending single moms, let me set the record straight: I am not criticizing the single moms whose husbands have bailed on them and the kids, leaving mom with the difficult challenge of being both mom and dad to their children. They have my utmost respect. What I'm suggesting is that if we're handing out awards to "Best Gutsy New Moms," let's recognize the young ladies who swam against the tide of the casual hook-up culture and somehow managed to remain pure for their wedding night. You know, the ones who did it in the right order: marriage first, then sex, then kids. (And yes, this may include women who today, find themselves single) Oh but that's so old fashioned! And besides, who needs fathers? They're so overrated in the eyes of a sophisticated Glamour magazine.

Or while we're handing out the "gutsy mom" awards, how about we highlight moms who refuse "selective abortion" in a multiple birth pregnancy when told it could endanger the lives of the other fetus(es)? Or how about those who refuse to abort when told they are carrying a baby with Downs Syndrome or a handicap and then devote their lives to loving and caring for these angels? Sounds pretty gutsy, to me. Or what about the moms who open their hearts to children trapped in the foster care system, many of which are challenged and have special needs? Those would be my personal picks, but hey, no one's asking. Ironically, Glamour magazine contacted my office about a year ago about possibly interviewing me for a piece on "female evangelists." Funny how that never panned out....Yikes, was it something I said?