Abstinence-only programs
May 19th 2009 07:11
According to The Guardian newspaper, Barack Obama is getting rid of funding for abstinence-only programs:
I'm a staunch social conservative, but I never understood the rationale behind abstinence-only programs. Yes, abstinence is the best option for preventing pregnancy and the spread of STD's. However, it's not realistic to expect everyone to remain abstinent. It just won't happen. With that in mind, we should offer comprehensive sex education courses that will arm teenagers with the knowledge they need to make better decisions. Doing so will almost certainly decrease the amount of unplanned teen pregnancies and it should reduce the total expenditure resulting from the treatment of patients with STD's and AIDS. Those should be goals of conservatives and providing abstinence-only education is not the best way to achieve those goals. As long as the government doesn't allow hyper-political groups like Planned Parenthood to determine the course content, I'm completely in favor of comprehensive sex education courses that both encourage abstinence and teach safe sex practices.
President Barack Obama faces a Republican backlash over his plan to scrap one of the most divisive policies left over from the Bush era: education programmes for teenagers that promote only sexual abstinence.
The decision, which emerged last night when details of Obama's budget for next year were published, will see $138m (£91.2m) a year redirected from abstinence-only programmes to "evidence-based and promising teen pregnancy prevention programmes."
The decision, which emerged last night when details of Obama's budget for next year were published, will see $138m (£91.2m) a year redirected from abstinence-only programmes to "evidence-based and promising teen pregnancy prevention programmes."
I'm a staunch social conservative, but I never understood the rationale behind abstinence-only programs. Yes, abstinence is the best option for preventing pregnancy and the spread of STD's. However, it's not realistic to expect everyone to remain abstinent. It just won't happen. With that in mind, we should offer comprehensive sex education courses that will arm teenagers with the knowledge they need to make better decisions. Doing so will almost certainly decrease the amount of unplanned teen pregnancies and it should reduce the total expenditure resulting from the treatment of patients with STD's and AIDS. Those should be goals of conservatives and providing abstinence-only education is not the best way to achieve those goals. As long as the government doesn't allow hyper-political groups like Planned Parenthood to determine the course content, I'm completely in favor of comprehensive sex education courses that both encourage abstinence and teach safe sex practices.
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Comment by S.L.
The Political Brief
Since then, morals and values have taken a nose dive. I have to agree with you, PopCon, that education is the best answer today. But stressing abstinence is still a good idea. We don't all assume our kids are going to become drug addicts and teach them about dirty needles. We don't all expect our kids to become criminals and provide them with a list of lawyers. It's a matter of expecting the best but arming them against the worst. A fine line to walk, huh?
Comment by PopulistConservative
Angry Electorate
Comment by S.L.
The Political Brief
Comment by Lester Caudill
Round Politics
Parents should have the say in what and how kids are educated in these delicate matters. I share your concern in how this will affect kids if the wrong groups are allowed to set the agenda.
I am seriously considering home schooling my daughter, I just can't trust the school system to keep her best interest at heart, seems they are only concerned with federal money.
Comment by PopulistConservative
Angry Electorate
In terms of trusting (or not trusting) the school system, I can understand where you're coming from. If you do send kids to public schools, though, you can probably have some degree of confidence in how you raised your children and trust that your teachings will override anything negative coming from the school. That's the hope, at least.
I was pretty lucky. I grew up in a conservative town and the teachers were all trustworthy people. We didn't have anyone with negative agendas trying to manipulate our sex ed programs. Teachers addressed it in a mature way and were mindful of the way that most of the kids in the community had been raised. I know that not everyone is that lucky, though.