Christian school: Teen banned from graduation not because she is pregnant but because she was immor

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Washington Post


The Washington Post
Joe Heim
5 hrs ago

A small Christian school in western Maryland is not backing down from its decision to ban a pregnant senior from walking at graduation next week.

Despite a public outcry and growing pressure from national antiabortion groups to reconsider, Heritage Academy in Hagerstown says that senior Maddi Runkles broke the school’s rules by engaging in intimate sexual activity. In a letter to parents Tuesday evening, school principal David R. Hobbs said that Runkles is being disciplined, “not because she is pregnant but because she was immoral. ... The best way to love her right now is to hold her accountable for her morality that began this situation.”

Runkles, 18, is a 4.0 student who has attended the school since 2009. She found out she was pregnant in January and informed the school, where her father was then a board member, in February. Initially the school told Runkles that she would be suspended and removed from her role as student council president and would have to finish the rest of the school year at home.

After the family appealed, Heritage said it would allow Runkles to finish the school year with her 14 classmates but she would not be able to walk with the other seniors to receive her diploma at graduation. The family believes that the decision is unfair and that she is being punished more harshly than others who have broken the rules.

Read more: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/christian-school-teen-banned-from-graduation-%E2%80%98not-because-she-is-pregnant-but-because-she-was-immoral%E2%80%99/ar-BBBuQ4Z?li=BBnb7Kz

[sandensea]

1. Medieval.

That Christian school in western Maryland should lose its tax exemption - which I bet they shamelessly abuse besides.

[Drahthaardogs]

43. They voluntarily signed up for this.

Hell, they PAID for this. Sorry, not sorry

[Dawson Leery]

47. Betsy DeVos would like to make this standard.

Never forget Francoist Spain. Catholic Church ran schools and hospitals. The Handmaiden's Tale is real.

[jberryhill]

2. I can't believe the parents are surprised by this

[RobinA]

23. Really

You send your kid to a Christian school, you can't be surprised when said school behaves like "Christians." Somehow, I doubt that this is the first time the school has indicated its attitude towards "immorality" in this way.

[OriginalGeek]

44. Seriously

I graduated from a christian high school. Went all four years of HS. There were 17 people in my graduating class. 2 of the guys in my class got their girlfriends pregnant during our senior year. One of them was a preacher's daughter although not the preacher that ran the school. All 4 students were kicked out - the girls were in 10th and 11th grade so they went to other schools, the boys graduated (as they had completed the requirements - it was almost end of year) "in absentia" according to the program. They weren't allowed to attend the graduation ceremony.

Good ol' abstinence! 100% effective most of the time.

[qwlauren35]

48. That sounds fair.

If you kick out the girls, kick out the boys.

[juxtaposed]

3. sounds like it could be another case of immaculate conception, that's my story

and I'm sticking with it. Nothing immoral there.

[OldRedneck]

4. You are absolutely right!!!

This young woman is the fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14: "And as the Lord has spoke, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and his name shall be called Immanuel . . . "

[juxtaposed]

5. or Bob

[eggplant]

11. That was my assumption, too. :) n/t

[thesquanderer]

6. I think they need to revisit "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" (n/t)

[mpcamb]

42. Is the dad going to graduate? 'Cause we wouldn't want any double standard, would we?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

7. Hypocrisy all around.

On the part of the school and on the part of the pregnant student. I will say I somewhat admire her willingness to not only have the baby but to be up front about her situation.

What I constantly notice is that even though abortion is theoretically available in this country, how many young women who get pregnant unexpectedly (although if they're having sex and not using birth control it shouldn't be particularly unexpected) do choose to have the baby rather than an abortion.

[mastermetaphysics]

8. God...

If God Created Itself... What Created before God...

http://mastermetaphysics.blogspot.ca

[StevieM]

9. It is ridiculous that the school is taking this stance.

And it is disgraceful that parents of other students are bullying her on facebook.

I am also sad that she is using her platform to protest against Planned Parenthood. The provide contraception that reduces the number of abortions.

[SergeStorms]

10. Don't expect......

rational decisions from any christian organization. Their interpretation of the bible can be any one of a thousand things, and decisions are made just to suit their moods, or personal agendas. What do you want to bet that this biblical insane asylum wants federal money next year as well?

If Trump wants to raise tax revenues on ANYONE, he ought to do it on churches. The assets they've amassed are staggering, and as far as I can tell, money taken in by the church that isn't being used to do good works isn't allowed?
TAX CHURCHES. ALL OF THEM. NOW!

[SunSeeker]

12. OFFS. - the girl is bashing Planned Parenthood?!

Maybe if she had visited Planned Parenthood and gotten some free contraception, she wouldn't be in this mess! I can't believe she is a 4.0 student. She sounds like an idiot.

[NutmegYankee]

14. It's a Christian school. Forest Gump could be a 4.0 student.

[OldRedneck]

18. She's a 4.0 student at a "christian school"

Their academic standards are not necessarily the same as those at a public school. In fact, I suspect their academic standards are the same standards that Betsy DeVos wants to see in place at the "charter" schools she is pushing.

[atreides1]

22. 4.0 means she's book smart

Doesn't mean she has any common sense!

[RobinA]

24. That Was What

I was thinking, but I wasn't going to say anything...

[LisaL]

27. Yep. She is now involved in anti-abortion activism.

Not sure I should feel sorry for her, or what?

[SunSeeker]

33. She is now involved in anti-abortion activism, working to cause more unwanted pregnancies.

Kinda hard to feel sorry for her as a victim when she is now a villain.

[lostnfound]

13. How many boys who reportedly have had sex were banned from graduation ceremonies?

Crickets?

[blaze]

15. This. nt

[SunSeeker]

34. Per statistics, half of those high school boys have had sex. Looks like no boys were banned.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolescent_sexuality_in_the_United_States

[GreenEyedLefty]

16. I bet the father gets to walk.

Assuming he is a fellow student, of course.... I bet he is a fine, upstanding, very moral young man.

[hexola]

20. He goes to another school...

And since its not a private christian school - he will walk.

[RobinA]

25. He Is Probably

some public school heathen

[Worktodo]

17. Mary was pregnant

Did Joseph kick her to the curb? "Judge not lest he be judged" and all that...

[SunSeeker]

32. As Mahatma Gandhi said...

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

[bresue]

19. WOMEN IN THIS DIE-HARD RELIGION

Always gets the blame. As they repeatedly preach from King James, Eve is stressed as the evil person who corrupted Adam....

[hexola]

21. She was forced to apologize in front of the whole school

Thats the most dastardly part of this - not sure that was in the story

[jberryhill]

30. That's normal for Christians

Making pregnant girls "apologize" to the entire congregation and, in this instance a school of that ilk, is normal for them.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/alleged-rape-victim-accuses-trinity-baptist-church-deacon/story?id=10806348

15-Year-Old Allegedly Raped, Then Forced to Confess to Church

[StevieM]

37. This woman was also clearly the victim of a coerced adoption.

She told her parents she wanted to stay with her grandparents in Texas. They said no. There is no explanation for that other than to make sure the adoption went through.

Why do you think they sent two church members out to Colorado to be there when she gave birth? They did it to make sure she followed through and signed the adoption papers.

The writer casually throws in, at the end of a paragraph, "The pastor urged her to give the child up for adoption, she said." That tells me that she really pushed hard to get this part of the story covered. The editors didn't really want to, but they agreed to include the basic facts of history. They wanted to talk about sexual abuse, but not acknowledge the pain that adoption can cause to first mothers, let alone recognize the coercion that exists in the system.

This was an evil act of separating mother and child and the author of the article just glossed over it. In reality, it is the most important part of this whole disgusting story.

[RKP5637]

26. Good old religion's interpretation of love and kindness. It's pretty much what they signed

up for. Religious stupidity.

[snooper2]

28. This is a good thing- Fundies want to go to Fundie school play by the Fundie rules

Maybe she will reconsider her fundieism now

[Egnever]

41. Agreed

Presumably it's draconian rules were part of the reason for going there in the first place.


Hard to muster much sympathy here.

[Greensix1]

29. Finland has the best schools in the world

Yes folks, by every measure the Nordic country of Finland has the world's best school system. And, guess what, they don't have single religious or private school in the whole country. Nada. It is an idea that America needs to consider. There, rich parents are forced to push for better public education if they want Their children to have a better education, instead of allowing them to favor their children over their neighbors.

[SunSeeker]

31. I would love it if we did that!

[Cryptoad]

35. No Room for Sinners in our Religion!

must be that Alt Christianity, whom doesn't believe Jesus meant what he said!

[Aristus]

36. Who wants to bet that Principal David Hobbs, guardian of morality,

has a stash of child porn somewhere? Or molests little girls?

Anyone that finger-waggingly hypermoralistic has got some dirty secrets...

[erpowers]

38. Did the Principal Vote for Donald Trump

I saw a story about this issue yesterday on CBS Morning News. One of the questions I had was, did the principal vote for Donald Trump. If the prinicpal voted for Donald Trump then he could allow this young woman walk across the stage to graduate. Donald Trump has done many more immoral things than this young woman. If he can be forgiven for his past mistakes then this young woman should be forgiven and allowed to walk across the stage. If Donald Trump's past is not enough to prevent him from being President than this young woman's past should not be enough to prevent her from walking across a stage, even if her past is recent. Next, I wondered what rules other students had broken. Finally, I wondered how boys who had had sex outside of marriage were treated/punished. I realize it is harder to tell whether or not young boys are having sex, but has any boy who has been found to have had sex outside of marriage been treated/punished in the same way as this young woman?

[Zambero]

39. So a pro-life teen keeps her baby in accord with church doctrine

Aside from that blessed personal decision, SHAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Democrats_win]

40. Pregnant girl's rights are human rights!

Clearly they can do whatever they like but this is not Christian. Note even close.

[jberryhill]

46. Not Christian?

Sounds like Jesus to me.

John, Chapter 4, Verses 6-17:


Jesus walks up to a well and sits down.

When a woman shows up, Jesus tells her to get him water and calls her a slut.

[bucolic_frolic]

45. Shaming and ex-Communication all in one

a modern form of The Scarlett Letter

[Blue_Adept]

49. Shouldn't they be celebrating the pregnancy?

I mean, the whole go forth and bring new white christian babies into the world and all. You'd really think they'd be encouraging mass pregnancies to get their country back.