People

By Guy D. Garcia

Morality has never been her strong suit, but Madonna's new hit Papa Don't Preach is nonetheless receiving the blessing of right-to-life organizations. Set to a snappy dance beat, the tune relates the plight of a young unmarried woman who decides to go ahead and have her baby despite the consequences. "The song points up the fact that somebody needs to help these girls with their painful decision to give life," says Susan Carpenter-McMillan of Feminists for Life. Pro-choice forces are singing back. The lyric doesn't "show what it really means to be 15 and have a baby," says Joan Coombs of Planned Parenthood. Meanwhile, the Material Girl has her own troubles these days. Her new movie, Shanghai Surprise, has derailed at the box office and rumors abound that her marriage to Co-Star Sean Penn is also off the tracks. Such uncharitable speculation is "not true," according to Madonna's p.r. agent, who accuses the media of assuming the pair has broken up "just because they happen to eat a meal in a different city." Well, the press has been known to exaggerate, but p.r., don't preach.