School officials in this hard-luck New England fishing town say an alarming 17 girls — four times the usual number — became pregnant this year. The story exploded after Joseph Sullivan, the principal of Gloucester High School, was quoted by Time magazine this week as saying the girls confessed to making such a pact. None of the girls or their families have come forward to confirm any type of pact, and school and health officials have not identified any of the youngsters. City and school officials in this town of about 30,000 people 30 miles north of Boston have been struggling for months to explain and deal with the pregnancies, where on average only four girls a year at the 1,200-student high school become pregnant. Just last month, two officials at the high school health center resigned to protest the local hospital’s refusal to support a proposal to distribute contraceptives to youngsters at the school without parental consent. read more

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