Comments on: New report demonstrates – yes, again – that ab-only programs don’t work

By: sally

sally — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:51:19 +0000

Thanks for that link to the Louisiana case. That case was based on very explicit religious content (e.g., “Jesus wants you to be chaste.”) But I wonder if you could also attack the very premise of abstinence only as religious indoctrination, even if there’s no explicit reference to Jesus. At root, it’s a fundamentally religious concept being pushed, that you should stay abstinent before marriage. If it were a truly *secular* and non-faith based doctrine about adolescent health, then it would have to incorporate other forms of birth control.

By: JustJss

JustJss — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:34:00 +0000

Sally: The ACLU did challenge abstinence education in Louisiana and got courts to agree that the religious info had to be removed …

http://www.aclu.org/reproductiverights/sexed/12754prs20050120.html

Small victories.

By: sally

sally — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 15:54:35 +0000

I do not understand why no parent has raised a serious 1st Amendment challenge to abstinence only, which is so clearly based on a religious agenda especially when actually taught by a religious organization! Has anyone ever heard of this sort of challenge? Maybe it’s just that no parent is willing to stand up and say, “I’m in favor of teen sex.”

Relatedly, I wonder why there has been no serious Title IX challenge to the abstinence-only curricula that push totally sexist gender stereotypes on kids. (I.e., girls are sluts, guys only want sex, girls are damaged if they have sex.) (Title IX is the federal law that bans gender discrimination in public schools.)

By: kat

kat — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 15:05:42 +0000

Hm….Maybe if states stop treating teenagers like idiots (“Well, if they can’t just control themselves and stop having sex, they’ll never control themselves to use contraception”), they’ll oblige by not acting as such!

Funny how when kids are treated as smart and worthwhile, they actually oblige….

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:51:55 +0000

But guys, don’t you get it? If teenagers would just listen and stop having sex, we wouldn’t have these problems!

Then, when they get married to another virgin, they can ride off into the sunset on a snow white unicorn of purity.

;)

By: AshKW

AshKW — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:26:43 +0000

You’ve got it, Jenna. The lies that are spewed about contraceptives and STI prevention are in some ways more terrifying than the ab-only programs themselves.

By: Jenna

Jenna — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:36:43 +0000

drinking a capful of bleach would prevent HIV/AIDS.

In addition to the frighting pregnancy and STI rates, what’s the rate of bleach-related poisionings in the state, now? **shudders**

By: Phenicks

Phenicks — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:30:11 +0000

I have to wonder why the parents aren’t educating their kids about condom use when clearly protection is vast;y becoming a matter of health or AIDS. Yes there will be teens who abstain simply because its what THEY want to do, you can’t be with your teenager 24/7 and you can not stop them form having sex. The only thing you could really do is tell them what YOU want them to do and let them know if they feel so inclined to disobey to PLEASE use protection, no matter what anyone says. I’d rather have an honest son without STDs/STIs or unwanted fatherhood than one who pretends to be a virgin yet has an incurable STD or STI or even has unwanted fatherhood pending.

By: lizriz

lizriz — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:04:06 +0000

I grew up in Florida and this makes me so sad and angry. I got exceptional sex education there in the 80s. State’s gone to hell in a hand basket. :(

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:41:02 +0000

Meredith, you just nailed it.