16 & Pregnant’s Lindsey Harrison defends herself against negative attacks

The focus of tonight’s episode of 16 & Pregnant is on Lindsey Harrison from Reno, Nevada. Lindsey, her boyfriend and father of her child Forest Ponce and baby girl Aniyah Monroe were featured on the cover of area newspaper the Reno Gazette Journal.

In the feature she discusses applying for the show at her sister’s suggestion and provides her opinions and experiences on being a mother at such a young age. Lindsey stated:

“I feel like every girl can wait. It’s so important to have a baby when you don’t have to rely on everyone else to help you. When you’re young you have to have help.”

(Spoiler Alert) Lindsey also mentions that she did consider having an abortion and even went as far as to have an appointment after her friends and Forest suggested she do so. There was something inside that wouldn’t let her follow through.

“But I knew I could handle it. I got pregnant for a reason. Now, that I’m a mom I think I got pregnant to show myself how strong I am.”

Here is the preview clip of tonight’s show provided by MTV:

The comments section turned into a back and forth in which Lindsey came to her own defense. Here are a few of the negative comments thrown her way:

Bonnie Cates:

YEAH that’s it, glorify teen pregnancy.your parents must be so proud. oh wait… you are there nest egg…..

Patrick J McConville:

I thought Reno 911 was embarrassing! Why doesn’t the RGJ profile some of the good stories of teens in the area and not someone who was too stupid to use birth control.

Jay Karle:

Reno, continuing to show off it’s trophies…pathetic.

Okay, I think we get the point here. It’s your typical stuff but surprisingly Lindsey joined in the comments looking to defend herself. Here is her back and forth that begins with a lengthy sermon.

Vikki Lockhart:

Lindsey, I feel sorry for you. The others are angry because the chances of you ending up on Welfare and the community paying for it are extremely high. I am not just talking about food stamps, but medicaid, WIC, and all the handouts given to unwed, uneducated mothers. Aside from being the best mother you can possibly be by giving up your freedoms of childhood, you should prove everyone wrong by making sure you do whatever it takes to finish school, continue your education however you can, and make something better for yourself. Do not become another statistic because you have put your face out there for all to see and make an example of you. Make sure you get the norplant or another highly effective birth control and dont be stupid and have another kid while trying to raise the one you have. Chances are if you are still living with your parents and you have insurance thru them, seek counseling now. It is likely you wont be with your baby’s father for very long and you should learn how to make better decisions in the future. Otherwise you will be looked down upon by most God fearing, tax paying and voting citizens. I have never had a child because I chose not to. And I did everything I could to avoid it. I succeeded and proud of it. Everyone has it in them to control their own destiny, yours has been changed Lindsey by your irresponsible behavior. When you are on TV, dont glamorize your situation. Show everyone that you made a mistake and show everyone that you will make the best of it without getting the Country involved with your life by becoming another Welfare Mother that the tax payors end up taking care of you and your baby thru our hard earned taxes taken from the paychecks we earn. Good luck to you. Think about your actions. You are in a fishbowl now…

Lindsey:

Vikki if only you knew my beliefs and what i am all about, i would never in a million years apply for ANY help from the government i dont take help from my parents & never our community. I didnt apply for medicaid or anything else. i did not make a “MISTAKE” i would never call my beautiful daughter a mistake everythings happens for a reason(: & for somebody whos never had a child you sure do have a big mouth for something you know very little about.

Allen Whitenack:

Lindsey Harrison how did you pay for the hospital bill? McDonalds insurance? Still on your parents? Do you use WIC?

Lindsey:

Allen Whitenack im making my own payments each month.

Allen:

Lindsey Harrison did you get a write off because you don’t make much money? Do you use WIC?

Lindsey:

Allen Whitenack nope i dont want a write off, no do NOT use any government assistance.

Vikki:

Lindsey Harrison Seems my response was erased so I will resubmit… I wont allow you to call me a big mouth without my response!!!! I am very responsible and I know ALOT about that. I wasnt being mean like everyone else calling you names, I was merely explaining to you that people are angry about uneducated, unwed, young mothers are becoming a drain on our Government economy. Just because you dont use or ask for Welfare, public housing, and food stamps now, doesnt mean that after the cameras stop rolling that you wont be in line as well… I never said your child was a mistake. God’s miracles are never mistakes. What I meant as a mistake is if you meant to get pregnant then I agree with the others comments and in saying you are stupid. But if you didnt plan on getting pregnant and you didnt take the steps to avoid this “MISTAKE” THEN YOUR IRRESPONSIBLE ACTIONS ARE CLEARLY A MISTAKE!!!! I also said I hope the best for you and that you can prove society wrong by finishing school, get a better job to be able to support you and your daughter. Chances are your baby’s daddy wont be around long and you will really be stuck. LASTLY… please prove us all wrong. Everyone wants you to succeed, especially your innocent baby.

Lindsey Harrison also, if you are employed and make over a certain amount you will most certainly be filing taxes unless your parents are claiming both you and your daughter as dependents. if you are filing your own taxes, then you get an earned income credit for your daughter, which IS A TAX WRITE OFF. So you need a little more education and realize someone is getting money for your daughter. Either you are or whoever you are living with. Someone is getting the tax credit. So you really shouldnt show your immaturity by making those claims if you dont have a clue…

Not all the responses were negative. I’ll end the post with one positive reply. Just in case you forgot, Lindsey’s episode of 16 & Pregnant airs tonight at 10EST. Join us on Twitter for some live blogging of the show (Lindsey has also indicated she’ll be tweeting and taking questions during the episode too). In the write-up it mentioned that her baby-daddy Forest makes money raising pit bulls which opened a whole different can of comment whoop-ace… We’ll see if that gets mentioned in tonight’s episode.

Jennifer Tonetti:

Hold on..hold on..hold on everyone. PLEASE remember that you are addressing a 16 year old. Lindsey is a good girl. She is smart and funny and a typical teenager who made a mistake. She decided to take responsibility and do her best to raise her daughter.