Controversial Pregnant Teen's Pictures: High School Bans Her Photos From Yearbook

pregnancy pictures mount vernon high school hannah talbert anderson bonilla mac talbert john torre esther manns student press law center

By Daniel , Parent Herald Jan 13, 05:10 am

A pregnant teen's pictures have been banned from a high school yearbook. The principal of the high school disallowed the use of the teen's pictures because of her concerns on how these pictures might be viewed by their future students.

The report from Washington Post says that the photos include an image of the 17-year-old girl Hannah Talbert showing her bare stomach while she was pregnant. Those photos were supposed to be included in a special section of the yearbook showing the teenage mothers attending Mount Vernon High School.

"We want to show the real world of what Mount Vernon is," yearbook editor-in-Chief Anderson Bonilla told the Washington Post. "We wanted to report something worth knowing."

The report says that Hannah initially posted the pictures on Instagram and she was later notified by Bonilla about his plan to feature her pictures for the yearbook. Sometime later, the principal told Bonilla not to move forward with his plan.

"I'm kind of disappointed that the school wanted to take it out," said Mac Talbert, the father of the teen, in an interview with Washington Post. "Hannah's not the only kid who has had to face this."

The high school's spokesperson John Torre gave an update to Yahoo Parenting about the status of Hannah's photos. "No final decisions have been made regarding the content in question," he affirmed.

Torre also sent a statement from principal Esther Manns to Yahoo Parenting regarding her role in the high school yearbook production. "For 12 years that I have supervised the Mount Vernon High School Yearbook, I have reviewed the content prior to submission."

Bonilla believes that the high school has violated due process. He has taken legal representation from the Student Press Law Center to settle the matter on the pregnant teen's pictures for the yearbook. "Common sense should carry the day and the school should realize that violating student free expression rights in an attempt to deny the existence of teen mothers is harmful to the community, the families and the students involved," in a statement to ABC News from the Student Press Law Center.