So CNN reported today that in Bristol Palin's first interview since she gave birth to her baby boy, Bristol admitted that "telling young people to be abstinent is 'not realistic at all.'"
Imagine that--Telling hormonal teenagers not to have sex may not work!
Another surprise: she also noted that having babies is not glamorous!
Will wonders never cease.
It's common knowledge that most teenagers have babies because of all the glamour, so it's interesting to hear that it may not be all it's cracked up to be! And ever since 1996, when President Clinton signed into law the Welfare Reform Act, with its federal dollars allocated to abstinence only education, we all thought that telling horny teens to not have sex was the best way to prevent these exciting teen births. Certainly that's what Sarah Palin has always believed.
Who knew that telling teens not to have sex, and withholding any information about birth control and STD's (except to tell them that condoms don't work), wouldn't be the best way to combat teen pregnancy?
Well, as it turns out, lots of people knew that.
Two decades after abstinence only education became the only federally-approved form of sex education in the country, and 1.5 BILLION dollars in abstinence funding later, we now know, from numerous studies, that IT DOESN'T WORK.
Kids who are given abstinence-only sex education not only don't delay their first sexual experience beyond those who take comprehensive sex education courses, but are more likely to get pregnant and to contract sexually transmitted diseases.
For decades, schools had to decide whether to take federal sex education funds, which means they had to teach abstinence only, or to reject those funds in favor of giving kids comprehensive sex education, thus reducing teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. In recent years, more and more schools have been rejecting the funds and providing education, rather than morality, to kids.
Let's hope that more schools will wake up to reality and do the same.
Imagine that--Telling hormonal teenagers not to have sex may not work!
Another surprise: she also noted that having babies is not glamorous!
Will wonders never cease.
It's common knowledge that most teenagers have babies because of all the glamour, so it's interesting to hear that it may not be all it's cracked up to be! And ever since 1996, when President Clinton signed into law the Welfare Reform Act, with its federal dollars allocated to abstinence only education, we all thought that telling horny teens to not have sex was the best way to prevent these exciting teen births. Certainly that's what Sarah Palin has always believed.
Who knew that telling teens not to have sex, and withholding any information about birth control and STD's (except to tell them that condoms don't work), wouldn't be the best way to combat teen pregnancy?
Well, as it turns out, lots of people knew that.
Two decades after abstinence only education became the only federally-approved form of sex education in the country, and 1.5 BILLION dollars in abstinence funding later, we now know, from numerous studies, that IT DOESN'T WORK.
Kids who are given abstinence-only sex education not only don't delay their first sexual experience beyond those who take comprehensive sex education courses, but are more likely to get pregnant and to contract sexually transmitted diseases.
For decades, schools had to decide whether to take federal sex education funds, which means they had to teach abstinence only, or to reject those funds in favor of giving kids comprehensive sex education, thus reducing teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. In recent years, more and more schools have been rejecting the funds and providing education, rather than morality, to kids.
Let's hope that more schools will wake up to reality and do the same.
Posts
I think that they should hand out condoms for free at the doors to the schools and at the grocery stores for that matter.
ReplyDeleteWhy make it so embarrassing that a kid doesn't want to deal with buying any. Give them away and let the gubment pay for it. That's a good use of my tax dollars.