Bristol Palin Pitches Abstinence On "Good Morning America," Levi Johnston Calls It "Not Realistic" (VIDEO)

Bristol Palin Pitches Abstinence On "Good Morning America," Levi Johnston Calls It "Not Realistic" (VIDEO)

Bristol Palin, daughter of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, went on "Good Morning America" to launch her new pastime as an ambassador for abstinence.

Anchor Christopher Cuomo pointed out that Palin's own personal history went against her abstinence-only message for teens. (Palin, 18, recently had a baby with former boyfriend Levi Johnston.) She became pregnant after she and Levi failed to use protection (something Johnston admitted on the "Tyra" show.)

Palin was less forthcoming on this issue than her ex. "Regardless of what I did personally, I just think that abstinence is the only way you can effectively, 100% foolproof way you can prevent pregnancy," she responded. Asked how she squared her own experiences with her new campaign, she added, "I'm not quite sure, I just want to go out there and promote abstinence and say, this is the safest choice. This is the choice that's going to prevent teen pregnancy and prevent a lot of heartache."

Palin did say that if she could do it over, "I would have waited, waited to have sex." Later she added, "I think using this experience in my life to help others, I think it's a blessing. ... I'm relatable, I am a teen myself. I'm saying that there's one way to prevent it, and that's not having sex."

Of course, Palin made headlines in February when she declared that abstinence is "not realistic at all." Now she says the quote was "taken out of context. ... I do think it's realistic. It's the harder choice, but it's the safest choice."

A major study published last year found that premarital abstinence pledges among teens were ineffective and often counterproductive -- teens were just as likely to have sex but less likely to use condoms or other forms of birth control.

In a subsequent interview on CBS's Early Show, Levi Johnston called Bristol Palin's abstinence message a "great idea" but "not realistic." Watch video here.

Watch a few excerpts of Palin on GMA:

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