Dear Michael Bloomberg, don’t shame single mothers

>>> whatever choices women make at work and in life, those choices are easier if they delay child bearing. having a kid while you are still a teenager can seriously curtail your options which is why it is good news that american teen pregnancy rates are at historic lows. the rate of teen pregnancy has been falling since 1991 , and dropped again dramatically in the last four years. so i must ask, why in the world as the crisis is abating and fewer teens are facing the challenges of early child rearing would the city of new york spend $400,000 on a campaign to publicly shame teen parents? seeking an answer in this week's letter goes to the man who signed off on the campaign. dear mayor michael bloomberg , it is me, melissa. what happened? i mean, mr. mayor, you have an enviable track record of supporting reproductive rights and advocates for common sense and proven strategies to reduce unwanted and unplanned teen pregnancy . you mandated comprehensive appropriatis ex education in schools. you have worked to make sure that birth control is available to young people to make wise decisions, and delay becoming parents, and the city's teen pregnancy rate has declined more than 20% in the last decade, and good job. and this week, these troubling posters began appearing all around the city, and each one featuring a well fed gorgeous, but obviously distressed toddler who is viewing questionably interpretable data and showing shame to his or her mythical parent. if you finish high school and get a job and get married before having children, you have 598% chance of not being in poverty. no, no, no. you see, mr. mayor, that is what i am talking about and you know that full well poverty has increased even as teen pregnancy as decreased and it is more closely linked to low wage work and barriers to employment than teenage pregnancy . and you know that poverty in latinos and other immigrant communities have increased despite dramatic decrease in teen pregnancy . so that is the type of thing that could lead some people to blame young mothers for the poverty crisis than putting it where it belongs, on a system that concentrates wealth at the top and public policies that entrench it there. and there is this poster, honestly, mom, chances are, he won't stay with you, what happens to me? i am rendered speechless, but this one, i cannot -- in a society that constantly tells black girls and women through popular culture and public policy that we are easily disposable and unmarriageable and wholly unlovable, this image of a child mocking her young mother with partner abandonment is simply a step too far, and maybe you don't realize this, mr. mayor, but those of us who were raised by single moms had no interest in shaming them. we tend to praise them, and recognize their sacrifices and see all of the ways they worked to make the world better for us even when it was hard for them. so, listen up, mr. mayor, i know you have kind of a thing about labeling as public health strategy, and you can't even so much as buy a fa lal fell from a street vendor these days without reading a label with the information aa aa aal nutrition attached, but as it goes, please keep your labels off of these young people . sincerely, melissa. o you that