The Gloucester 18
As the definitive investigation of the Gloucester pregnancy pact, "The Gloucester 18" explores the heartbreaking circumstances that led the seaside town to international infamy.
In the summer of 2008, a whispered high school rumor became an international embarrassment when reports of a pregnancy pact among 18 girls in Gloucester, Massachusetts were leaked to a national magazine. For weeks, the worldwide media flooded the quaint fishing community, in frenzied pursuit of the girls behind the pact. Unable to find the girls involved, reporters from as far away as Australia, the UK and Brazil eventually retreated empty-handed.
“The Gloucester 18” introduces the world to the girls behind the headlines, many of whom are speaking publicly for the first time. Beneath the unprecedented media fervor are the stories of girls searching for meaning and purpose.
As the teen pregnancy rate in the United States climbs, more than 750,000 girls become pregnant each year. By deconstructing the story behind the international scandal and interviewing teenage mothers from all corners of Massachusetts, “The Gloucester 18” offers a heartbreaking analysis of the teenage pregnancy epidemic that the nation is facing.
Featuring songs by Beyoncé and Solange Knowles and a score by Stuart Kollmorgen, “The Gloucester 18” is an in-depth investigation of the Gloucester pregnancy pact and the phenomenon of teenage pregnancy across the nation.