This statistic blew my mind but also allowed me to think a lot. Are Texas schools only teaching abstinence-only education programs because we live in a Bible Belt? In Colorado, a more liberal state teaches about contraception and has dropped 40% in teen birth rates.
Furthermore, I think we as Texans are taught abstinence because Texas takes pride in being a God fearing state. The bible says to stay pure in your heart and mind until one is married and we must always stay abstinent before marriage. As a preachers daughter, I agree to an extent of what the Bible says and so does my father. I am lucky to have a father that is understand and knows that it is natural for people to have sex. I read on Huffington Post that most women feel shameful about having sex therefore making it harder for them to use contraception to stay protected. I will never forget when my friends started using Birth Control. I remember thinking, "What a slut, she is using Birth Control just so she can have sex all the time." I can honestly say that I did feel shameful at first about having sex. I also realized how stupid I was for judging my friend because I know use a form of contraception.
"Advocates for Youth reports that a full 88% of virginity pledge participants fail to maintain the pledge, and are more likely than their non-pledging peers to engage in risky sexual behavior and tend to have more partners once they start having sex.'' We as Texans need to get over the fact that everyone has desires to have sex. Even if the child is abstinent until they are in their 20's they are at some point going to have sex. We should teach our children about contraception and how to prevent them from getting pregnant. The question really is, can we get over our Bible belt days and allow our children to get the funding and education to know more about preventive contraception. Could we possibly teach both abstinence and ways to prevent with contraception together? I think Texas can, but must first let go of some of our pride. The truth is that abstinent education programs aren't working in Texas. We need to find a way to teach our future children about contraception in a proper and fulfilling way.
The author of the blog post “Livin in a Bible belt” from the blog Everythangs Bigger in Texas makes many good points on his critique of sex education in Texas. Abstinence-only education programs have been pushed from the state government, but I, like my fellow peer, do not agree that this is a solution to stop teen pregnancies. It is not a secret that teenagers have sex. This is a fact, and I believe teenagers should not be shamed for it. It is natural to want to have sex, even at an early age. This is how humans are biologically designed. Of course just because teenagers want to and have sex, does not mean that these actions can have negative effects. In any sexual relationship there is potential for sexually transmitted diseases to be spread and for women to become pregnant. Both of these consequences cost the state money, which is why it is such an important issue to our government, however, their push for abstinence only programs is not a solution to this problem. My colleague notes that in Colorado, teen pregnancies have dropped 40% since enacting sex education that includes contraceptive information. This is an example of how teaching teens about safe-sex is actually helpful in teens engaging in safe sex. I believe many people preach abstinence in the hopes that teens will rethink having sex or somehow stop wanting to have sex. From my experience, teens will have sex if that is what they want to do, regardless of their religious faith or what they have been taught. This decision is complicated for teens because their body tells them they want to do something, while their mind may want something else. In order to protect teens if they decide to have sex, we should teach them what the consequences of having unprotected sex can be and how to practice safe-sex.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is the fact that Texas is very motivated by religion that is the cause of the push for abstinence-only education. Christian religions preach no sex before marriage, but in public schools, this belief should not be pushed onto others. Schools should not be motivated by religious beliefs, but rather teach real facts about sex, which includes contraceptive information. I also believe that a curriculum that includes contraceptive and abstinence information can work. In my high school health class, we went over all contraceptives, but the teacher made sure to emphasize that abstinence is the only way to 100% prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. I feel that this emphasis is helpful in both teaching sexually active teens the information they need to know, while still emphasizing that abstinence is the safest form of contraceptive.