I don't normally pay much attention to celebrity news, but in my corner of suburbia, all parents are talking about is 16-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears' pregnancy.

Yesterday, during a doctor's appointment, my doctor told me the news, then proceeded to launch into a 10-minute monologue about what an awful mother the Spears daughters must have, and how would she (my doctor) ever explain this news to her own tween daughter.

Then, this morning, at the holiday concert at my daughter's elementary school, I overheard the a bunch of PTA moms opining.

"Nickelodeon should fire her!"

"She is supposed to be a role model!"

"What an awful mother!"
And so on.

As the mother of two daughters, age 11 and 6, I worry as much as the next about the influence of pop culture. And I am full aware that judging others' parenting skills seems to have become a national pastime.

But, if we're going to discuss this pregnancy for more than five minutes, we should look at the larger issues it raises. Before I explain:

first read what Jamie Lynn Spears said about her and her 18-year-old boyfriend's reaction to her pregnancy:

"It was a shock for both of us, so unexpected...I was in complete and total shock, and so was he."

And now pay attention to her mother's comment:

"I didn't believe it because Jamie Lynn's always been so conscientious. She's never late for her curfew.."

You could argue that this shows Mama Spears' woefully inadequate parenting skills--her failure to teach her daughter the basic facts about unprotected sex. (Bonnie Fuller already did that.)

But I'd also argue that it points up the larger failure of abstinence education, which has been promulgated by the religious right. I have no idea if the church that Jamie Lynn met her boyfriend at is a proponent of abstinence education. But I wouldn't be surprised if it was and if mama Spears believed in the ignorance-is-bliss approach too.

After all, Mama Spears apparently had a parenting book due out soon, to be published by a "Christian" inspirational publisher. (Too bad that's on hold now. Would have made for some fun reading.)

Keeping kids ignorant about sex and birth control--and refusing only to talk about abstinence--does not prevent teen pregnancy or sexual activity. There is quite a bit of academic research showing that.

Now there may be an anecdote too. Stumble It!