Young mum Bristol Palin comes out for abstinence

Although it is nearly two months since they broke up, Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston are still thrashing out their differences on American television. Bristol, the daughter of Alaskan Governor and former Republican vice-presidential hopeful Sarah Palin, appeared on ABC's Good Morning America and NBC's Today show to kick-start her ambassadorship of a foundation which advocates abstinence among teenagers.

The fact that the teenage couple did not practise what Bristol is now preaching – they had a child together in December, first news of which came out during Sarah Palin's campaign – seems not to have influenced the Candie's Foundation choice of ambassador, nor Bristol's decision to take on the role.
 
"Regardless of what I did personally, I just think that abstinence is the only way you can effectively, 100 per cent foolproof way you can prevent pregnancy," Bristol told ABC's viewers. "I just want to go out there and promote abstinence and say, this is the safest choice. This is the choice that's going to prevent teen pregnancy and prevent a lot of heartache."
 
This was at odds with a statement she made in February, after the birth of her baby son, Tripp. At that stage she said abstinence was "not realistic at all".

Johnston promptly appeared on CBS's The Early Show to rebuke his ex-girlfriend's claims, stating that the abstinence campaign was "not going to work," and that "it's not realistic" to ask teens to refrain from having sex until they're married. "It's a great idea and a great message she's trying to send out... But I do think there's more things to it than just not having sex," said the 19-year-old.
 
America has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the industrialised world, with more than 750,000 teens becoming pregnant every year and the Candie's Foundation is concerned that most teenagers don’t fully consider the implications of a pregnancy.

"I'm out here trying to tell teens this is hard work," Bristol, 18, told Today's host, Matt Lauer. "It's not just an accessory on your hip. This is hard work." ·