Sexual Education and the electionFollow

It may be for download on their website or something too, I didn't check, sorry if the copy paste is kinda hard on the eyes.

Nexa

I hate you. I'm bored.

Nexa

I think the point is that everybody knows that abstinence programs work, and Obama is clearly not up to speed with the cutting edge in Pregnancy Prevention.

Edited, May 16th 2008 1:14am by roippi

Due to lack of premium:

::rolleyes::

Um, will you be offended if I say: "OMG, America is Dooooooooooooooomed!"




Just....



Oh whoops! That'll teach me to only read the first sentence of every paragraph. For a moment there I thought ALL the candidates, including the Democrats, supported Abstinence only programs! Phew!

Edited, May 16th 2008 3:53am by Aripyanfar

How insulting. She could have just let the poor sod keep the pen.

Well, this would be the standpoint of those who think it "works" because it "should" "if only". Rather than worrying about that though, why don't we focus on the fact that it absolutely DOES NOT work because people DO have sex because it's a natural behavior of human beings since the dawn of time and attraction cares nothing for our arbitrary definitions of what is age appropriate.

Abstinence only education is absolutely shameful. It's allowed because we define minors as property and denying them the knowledge to make healthy decisions and protect themselves is a much beloved American right. I've actually heard parents say that they would be fine with their children getting AIDS if they had sex before marriage because that would be what they deserve. @#%^ing horrifying.

Nexa

Edited, May 16th 2008 8:53pm by Nexa

I had no trouble buying or using birth control when I was a teenager, and I recognized that it would be the preference of my parents that I not have sex. I was fortunate enough though to have been in school in a place where abstinence only education hadn't taken over and I understood that there was a *benefit* to using birth control. There is a generation of teenagers right now where we find that they think that condoms are so ineffective as to be useless...a tactic employed by the abstinence only curriculum. Not only aren't our children being given the information they need to be healthy, they're being fed false information in the hopes that it will both frighten them into not having sex and to not take precautions if they do. Are any less children having sex now than before? Survey says no, and sometimes more, but with less knowledge of protection from pregnancy, HIV/AIDS or other STDs. Good work.

The point is that it doesn't matter what you think or feel about teenagers having sex. Denying them the tools to protect themselves because *you* think they should wait is beyond irresponsible, it's neglect at best and abuse at worst. People yell "protect the children" and then do the opposite. This would be a key reason that the U.S. has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the industrialized world.

Keep your misguided morality to yourself.

Nexa

You're an idiot.

I could never get into the attitude of, "we should base our education on morality issues, like sex and drug use, on some abstract ideal rather than on what ACTUALLY WORKS to change behavior."



Especially given that most young people catch on to the fact that authority figures have been lying to them constantly while they were growing up; anyone who honestly expects most teens to obey when you tell them "don't ****" has a head full of marbles.



"Abstinence-only" sex ed has been proven to not only not work, but to be actually counterproductive, resulting in higher rates of teen pregnancy and sexually-transmitted infections, and at best having no effect on the rate of pre-marital sex.

On the other hand, comprehensive sex ed has been proven to result in lower rates of teen pregnancy and STIs.

Oh, it's always semantics with you, Smash!

Occasionally drunk?

Come, come. I'm 3 Stellas in!

Well, to be fair though, even the most strict abstinence only program doesn't simply teach you not to ever have sex. The objective is to teach teens not to have sex until they're "ready", specifically when they're hopefully married to the person they're going to have sex with.

We can also debate the likelihood of that happening, however it's a much more reasonable restriction then just saying "don't have sex... ever!".



Again. That's not what they teach. The objective isn't to prevent them from making decisions, but to encourage them to make the right one. At least until they get out of school and are an adult, and maybe have a bit more sense in their heads.

The counter argument is that if you tell teens "Well, you're going to do this anyway, so use a condom" isn't exactly a brilliant method either. You're giving them the excuse to "do it anyway", and hoping that they'll be responsible enough to use a condom in the process.


Most programs use a combination of the two. You encourage teens not to have sex while they are teens (the abstinence component of the program), and teach them about birth control, but in the context of "this is what you use to prevent babies and std later in life when you're old enough to make a good decision about sex". While we can speculate about whether teens can make good decisions sexually, I think the overwhelming evidence shows that they don't, regardless of what you teach them in sex-ed...

While we can speculate about whether teens can make good decisions sexually, I think the overwhelming evidence shows that they don't, regardless of what you teach them in sex-ed...

No, the evidence shows if you give them condoms they use them. If you tell them how to use them correctly they use them correctly. If you don't, they get pregnant, not to mention STDs.

Fortunately for you, Nexa's got a busy weekend, so you'll be spared the clinical burning wrath of ten years of experience researching this subject.