More Evidence The Republicans Aren't Helping

UPDATE: Sarah Palin has announced that her daughter-in-law became pregnant before marriage. Considering Bristol's already had her first grandchild, I wonder how secure Palin's opinion of abstinence-only is? Sarah Palin To Be A Grandmother Again

Apparently Governor Rick Perry has a bit of a learning disability: Why Are Texas Teens Getting Pregnant

In 2007, the article states, Texas had the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country. Right after Perry instituted abstinence-only programs for sexual education. Deciding that wasn't good enough, the program continued, and in 2009, 94% of schools had no sex ed beyond abstinence-only.

Now, the pregnancy rate is 50% higher than the national average, and Texas also leads the country in REPEAT teen pregnancies.

I was going to post yesterday about this article (Birth Control Coverage Under Obamacare), but it seems my procrastination paid off this time, as both of these articles address the same thing.

Kids will make smart choices if you give them the tools to. At our cores we are the same animals with the same instincts as those we keep as pets, so we know we are fighting a losing battle when we tell kids not to have sex. Instead of telling them not to, and then pretending not to hear any other possible conversation, is no better than a teenager who wants to explore her sexuality safely but can't because she has no information. Kids need more information, not less.

I'm also a staunch believer that our school's sex ed fails because it fails to address sexuality. We teach biology fine. All things being equal, penis + vagina = baby. But how does penis + vagina = love? Or = pleasure? Or even = orgasm? My parents didn't have that convo with me. Did yours?

We have enough data on programs and services to be able to judge whether or not they are working. Once pollsters have had a chance to question Texans teens on WHY they are having unprotected sex and having children too soon, I suspect most abstinence-only programs will be on their way out.

Unless, of course, as a country we keep electing politicians who prefer holding their hands over their ears and ignoring all evidence that proves that what they are doing isn't working.