As you've probably heard Wednesday was National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, and to kick off the day the Candie's Foundation sent its new teen ambassador, Bristol Palin, to make the rounds of the morning shows and the New York press scene.   

The Candie's Foundation's mission is "to educate America's youth about the devastating consequences of teen pregnancy through celebrity PSA campaigns and initiatives."

Americans couldn't get enough of Vice Presidential-nominee Sarah Palin and her brood during the presidential campaign, especially pregnant teenager Bristol and her then-fiancé, Levi Johnston.  So, the foundation's choice of a spokesperson was a brilliant move guaranteed to bring much-needed attention to the important issue of teen pregnancy.  

Unfortunately, the message she seems to have been asked to deliver is disingenuous at best and dangerous at worst.   

Since the campaign ended, Bristol has given birth to a son, Tripp, broken up with her fiancée, and appeared in an off-the-cuff interview on CNN in which she admitted that abstinence was probably unrealistic for today's teens.   Though, today, she says that that sentiment was taken out of context, one has to wonder if it isn't what she still believes.  

Appearing poised and put together, Bristol's first live interview was with Good Morning America's Chris Cuomo.  Much of the interview focused on the difficulties of being a teen mother from the fear of disappointing your parents to the 24/7 grind of sleepless nights and washing bottles.  Here, Bristol did a good job of conveying the fact that teen parenting is difficult and that even with the help, parental support, and national attention she has gotten, it's a life-changing experience and she wishes she had waited to become a mother.    

When asked about how to prevent teen pregnancy, however, she spouted a strict abstinence message:  "abstinence is the only way that you can effectively, 100%, fool proof way to prevent pregnancy."  Though probably a little bungled, this is clearly a talking point she was given during her media training to become the foundation's ambassador.  This became even more clear when, pushed by Chris Cuomo about safe sex, she simply repeated her abstinence message: "I'm saying that there is one way to prevent it and that's not having sex."  

Bristol went from there to the Today Show's couch where she sat down with Matt Lauer, her father, and a peacefully sleeping Tripp.  Again, much of the interview focused on the difficulties of teen motherhood, and, again, she was well-spoken and conveyed the message that this is not an easy life path.  When this interview veered toward prevention messages, Bristol seemed a little more open to other options.  Specifically, when asked if there was room for the concept of safe sex she said: "if you're going to have sex you should have safe sex" before once again repeating that "abstinence is the only 100% fool proof way of preventing teen pregnancy."  

One has to wonder about the conversations between Bristol and her media coaches on the way across town.  Did she ask to be able to speak her mind?  Did they acknowledge that a teen pregnancy prevention message does not have to, and, in fact, should not, exclusively focus on abstinence?  We will probably never know.  

What we do know is this: both Bristol and the Candie's Foundation have an excellent opportunity to draw attention to the 750,000 teen pregnancies that occur in this country each year (a statistic that both Chris Cuomo and Matt Lauer used as an introduction to their pieces and millions of morning viewers now know).  And, they should use this opportunity to promote accurate information and a balanced approach to prevention.  Abstinence, when used consistently and correctly, is 100% effective in preventing pregnancy. But it clearly isn't "foolproof" and it is not the "only way."  

Let's hope that instead of being so rigid in their messaging, they use this terrific platform to tell young people (and their parents) that it is important to delay sexual activity and to use a reliable method of contraception (consistently and correctly) as soon as they do become sexually active.