Lifetime’s ‘The Pregnancy Pact’ is a drama movie that centers upon Sidney Boom, a blog reporter, who returns to her hometown in the small fishing town of Gloucester, Massachusetts, to investigate the matter that involves a string of teenage pregnancies. She soon discovers the truth about a “pregnancy pact” sworn by naive and gullible teenage girls of the same high school.
As Sidney tries to counteract the problem and search for more answers, she comes to a dead end when the conservative community completely denies the events. Helmed by Rosemary Rodriguez, the shocking events and revelations in the 2010 film make everyone question if it is based on real life. If you are curious about the same and want to unveil the truth behind it, here’s all you need to know!
Reality vs. Fiction in Gloucester’s 2008 Pregnancy Scandal
Yes, ‘Pregnancy Pact’ is based on a true story. Penned by Pam Davis and Teena Booth, the movie begins with the disclaimer: “The story of a fictional ‘pregnancy pact’ set against actual news reports from June 2008, and although some of the locations and public figures are real, any resemblance to actual persons is purely coincidental.” In 2008, the news of a “pregnancy pact” spread like wildfire across the nation. As per reports, 18 girls from a high school in Gloucester, Massachusetts, had allegedly decided to conceive and become pregnant at the same time.
However, in reality, this was a prime example of twisting narratives and feeding false information to the public. It was reported that a school official purportedly told a news outlet about the “pregnancy pact,” and the information blew out of proportion to the point where Gloucester gained attention due to that scandal. The town folks were unhappy because they were only recognized for this controversy.
In 2017, Inside Edition interviewed Brianne Mackey, one of the teens, to uncover the truth. She recalled that after the pregnancy test, her mother was the first person to know the news. Even though 18 girls did get pregnant at the same time, none of those events were planned, and it was purely incidental. Brianne said, “It was no, ‘Hey, let’s do this together. As far as I know, none of the girls who got pregnant were even friends.” She added, “I think that people are always going to sadly think there was some type of pact or some type of thing going on.”
In an interview with Seventeen, Madisen Beaty spoke about her character Sara Dougan. She commented, “Sara Dougan is the last girl you would ever think to get pregnant in high school. She comes from what seems like a perfect family, has great values, and is a great student. Her pregnancy is totally unexpected, and it is because she is the victim of peer pressure.” During the movie’s filming, Madisen was also a 15-year-old teenager, and she wanted to be a part of a project that sends an eye-opening message which is relatable to her and all other girls around her age.
Madisen decided to act as Sara because the young actress wanted to “open the doors for conversations” about such sensitive topics. She also touched upon the subject of peer pressure in school and said, “Peer pressure is something everyone will face in school. You have to really go by what you think is the right thing to do. Turn to the friends you trust the most when you are put in a compromising situation. If your friends are making the wrong decision, then turn to your parents.”
The central theme of the Lifetime movie touches upon high school pregnancies. Upon its release, the execution of the film wasn’t met with favorable reviews, but the critics and the audiences as many believed the girls were represented in poor fashion. With that being said, the filmmakers likely did not have any ill intentions and only wanted to use a widely popular event to send out an informative message through the narrative. Though ‘The Pregnancy Pact’ tries to shed light on a prevalent issue in society, the “pregnancy pact” element of it is not based on a true story.
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