By Denis Campbell

Ya think? 

It was a tragic tabloid headline feeding frenzy. 12-year old Alfie Patten of Essex was by all photographic accounts an extremely pre-pubescent child. Yet he was paraded out before paparazzi by baby Maisie’s mother Chantelle Stedman, age 15, as the father back in February. 

Most were as stunned as the deer-caught-in-the-headlights Alfie. Near universal unspoken reaction was wtf? Yesterday’s revelation though brought the planets back into alignment. DNA tests showed the father was Tyler Barker, also 15. Authorities objected to unkind characterisations of Ms. Stedman’s motive and behaviour and tried, unsuccessfully, to suppress test results.

Then yesterday SKY News broke the story a mother of twins noticed that the children had different facial features. She investigated and DNA tests revealed those twins had different fathers. She told FOX 4 News in Dallas: “Out of all people in America and of all people in the world, it had to happen to me. I’m very shocked.”

SKY’s health correspondent Thomas Moore helpfully added: “A woman can release two eggs from her ovaries, and the eggs will remain viable for 24 hours after ovulation. Sperm can survive up to five days inside a woman’s body, so a woman could sleep with different men several days apart, and get pregnant not once, but twice.”

One can breathe a small sigh of relief for heartbroken Alfie and hope that he learns from the experience. As for ‘duoMom’ Mia, that will be interesting to referee as more than few lawyers are willing to jump into the middle of that feeding frenzy. While her partner James is forgiving in front of the cameras, one can only imagine the John and Sarah Edwards dialogue stream going on in that household.

As reported here in April, neither revelation is likely to impact the US and UK joint standing atop teen pregnancy tables. The world focused this weekend on the furore at Notre Dame University where President Obama received an honorary degree and protestors debated over abortion and a woman’s right to choose.

In his speech though, indeed in every speech he makes on this subject, he reiterates his own position of being pro- a woman’s right to make what has to be a very difficult personal decision and wanting to do much more to ensure that fewer abortions are needed yet his government is hamstrung by the religious right in the USA to do much more on the subject than a Nancy Reagan “Just Say No!” program which failed miserably at stopping US drug addiction problems.

A strong national sex education curriculum in the US and UK, including something more than abstinence only, rather an understanding of STDs, HIV/AIDS, safe sex, debunking myths surrounding sexuality, the wide range of contraceptives, morning after pill and use of condoms would be a very good place to start. 

And it would also be helpful if this was an ongoing programme that started well before Year Six when the most biologically mature of the group are already experimenting or curious.

Bristol Palin as the poster child for abstinence only education notwithstanding, when hormones are exploding everywhere, abstinence failures occur the most. 

When the Obama Administration eliminated the nearly $2 billion dollars in ‘abstinence only’ educational funding it was a partial victory. First it does not work, second, it costs too much and third, nothing was put in its place to really help kids with questions about human sexuality.

How about now putting that money into real age-specific sex education and other programs to combat the UK drink and benefit culture? Something that  shows young kids how much of their life they will postpone by having children now. Something that shows that while you may think he/she will love you forever with a child it is forever so why not wait until you are both mature enough to take conscious decision together? Something that eliminates the stigma and lets adults and kids speak openly about these issues.

Otherwise you could end up on the front page of The Sun. Oh, never mind, that’s probably the wrong motivation here.