HOLLYWOOD, CA (FR) – In a day when abortion is constantly portrayed on television and the motion picture screen as an accepted alternative, a major Hollywood film was released in January which carries a strong pro-life message.

“For Keeps,” produced by Tri Star Pictures, features the popular teen-age actress Molly Ringwald as a pregnant high school senior who decides to get married and keep the unplanned baby. The young couple wagers that love and good humor can beat the odds despite those who say teen-age marriages can’t work.

“There have been many theatrical films about people being married and having babies,” producer Jerry Belson said, “but they’ve never really done one about teenagers. Even though I realized it was sensitive politically, I still thought it was worth it to do a human story about kids like this.”

Screenwriters Tim Kazurinsky and Denise DeClue said they began work by immersing themselves in the subject of teen-age pregnancy, reading articles and speaking directly to teen-age mothers. “According to our research,” says Kazurinsky, “about 10,000 U.S. teen-agers a week who are pregnant keep their babies. And in every interview we had with young pregnant girls, they all said, ‘I never thought it would happen to me.’”

Director John Avildsen said the script appealed to him because of the theme of the two teens’ maturing relationship in the midst of a major problem that could have broken them apart. “You want them to work out their problems,” he said, “and stay together.”