One of my teenage daughters recently asked me if I’d heard that “Jennifer Hudson was preggers?” Being the responsible journalist that I am, I was able to confirm the report at several sites including ones here and here.
I believe her pregnancy and the response to it is a sign of the changing times that is at the same time wonderful and scary.
Hudson’s current life sounds smart and successful. She’s been an American Idol contestant, Grammy nominee and winner, Oscar winner, survivor of several family challenges and is currently engaged to a Harvard law graduate.
And now, she’s pregnant. And an entire generation of young women sees her more as a role model than a moral failure. That may not sound like news, but just imagine the same news several decades ago. Among people of faith, she is “pregnant out of wedlock.” A former generation would use an f-word (not a 4-letter word!) to describe her.
Is the change in moral standards a positive or negative thing? As a father of three, I will tell you that I still hold out hope that my daughters–like my wife–would wait until marriage and enjoy the intimacy that God created with their husband and their husband alone. I have respect for those in Hollywood who hold up this standard.
And yet, I find myself not wanting to judge those–like Ms. Hudson–who’ve become pregnant before marriage. So where does that leave us?

It is my hope that the media will continue to report the news of media stars who choose abstinence as consistently as they do those who become pregnant. (See Dena Ross’ Idol Chatter post on Miley Cyrus’ abstinence pledge.). Let’s continue to let a younger generation know that there is a choice. We can stand for a standard without being judgmental of those who don’t meet it.
In the meantime, Ms. Hudson and her fiancé have our family’s prayers for God’s best, and their baby has our prayers for complete health, happiness and a purposeful life.