"The president has also proposed doubling the amount of money available in his budget for scientifically unproven abstinence-only-until-marriage education programs to $273 million." Let's talk about abstanence only sex-ed for a moment, shall we? I'd like to quote 16 year old Emily Chaloner who I thought said it best: "E M I LY C H A L O N E R , 1 6Teens do not want to be preached to about abstinence. Notonly do we get tired of hearing it, but if abstinence is theonly thing taught then the teens who want to be or arealready sexually active won't be educated. Safer sex must betaught. We need to know where to get and how to usecontraception. Without this information, contraception isuseless. We need to be told that safer sex not only preventspregnancy but also STIs. Students should be given all theinformation that they deserve." However, I think that the people at the Centers for Aids Prevention also might have some insight into this. "Comprehensive sexuality education begins with abstinence but also acknowledges that many teenagers will choose to have sex and thus need to be aware of the consequences and how to protect themselves. Such programs include instruction in safe sex behavior, including use of condoms and other contraceptives."
What about Bush's home-state texas? They wen't to abstanence only sex-ed while he was governor, how did that work out? "Students in Lubbock, Texas, are protesting abstinence-only sex education, taught since 1995 when Gov. George W. Bush signed a bill requiring that Texas schools follow the curriculum. Since then, teen pregnancy and STD rates have stayed high."
"In 2000, Texas' statewide teen pregnancy was 33 per 1,000; Lubbock County's rate was 42.4, said Jane Tustin, health services coordinator for the Lubbock Independent School District. The same year, fewer than 150 per 100,000 cases of gonorrhea were reported nationally. Lubbock County reported double that rate, with most cases among those ages 15 to 20."
"An abstinence-only education curriculum, like the one implemented in Texas by then Governor George W. Bush, is ineffective in decreasing teen pregnancies. According to a Washington Post article (1/21/2003) analyzing Texas' sex education program, "In the seven years since their schools began teaching abstinence-only, young people here have been anything but abstinent. Teen pregnancy rates in the state remain above the national average... the number of Texas youths with sexually transmitted diseases has risen steadily." Since 1995, teen birthrates have fallen, but they have fallen at slower than the national rate. "
So let's tell Mr. Bush: "Sir, you may not pass a budget that increases the chances of my little sister getting knocked up. Thank you."