|
Would anyone care to share some statistics on pregnancy rates for those states who advocate abstinence only programs vs. safe sex programs?
Well shucks, although I've got the day off and I'm feelin' a bit lazy, I'll throw these little tidbits out:
| quote: | A long-term study of 12,000 teenagers found several interesting, but unsurprising things:
- 88 percent of teenagers who signed the abstinence pledge (no sex before marriage) end up breaking it
- Even though taking the pledge does tend to delay sex by about 18 months, most people tend to “catch up” pretty quickly
- 40 percent of the pledge-takers use condoms, as opposed to 60 percent of those who chose to not take the pledge
- Teens who don’t take the pledge are much more likely to be tested for STDs than those who do (9.1 percent to 5.2 percent for guys and 28 percent to 14 percent for girls)
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstra...DAA0894DC404482 |
So what's to conclude from the study? That most kids who take the abstinence pledge tend not to follow through with it, half of those who break it have some sensibility and practice safe sex anyway, but those who don't are much less prepared for sex, and therefore are 30% less likely to use a condom and only 1/2 as likely to get tested (hmmm, gotta love those folks who spread it around who don't even know they have it). So I guess it would be safe to conclude that these "abstinence-only pledges" actually promote STD's more than safe sex programs.
Ain't that grand?
And despite what some here may think of Planned Parenthood (I even share some of those sentiments), they do seem to have some research to support their assertions:
| quote: | Abstinence-only sexuality education doesn't work. There is little evidence that teens who participate in abstinence-only programs abstain from intercourse longer than others. When they do become sexually active, though, they often fail to use condoms or other contraceptives. Meanwhile, students in comprehensive sexuality education classes do not engage in sexual activity more often or earlier, but do use contraception and practice safer sex more consistently when they become sexually active (AGI, 2003, Jemmott, et al., 1998; Kirby, 1999; Kirby, 2000; NARAL, 1998).
References:
-AGI — Alan Guttmacher Institute. (2003, accessed 2004, June 24). Facts in Brief: Sexuality Education, 2003 [Online]. http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/fb_sex_ed02.html.
-Jemmott, John, et al. (1998). "Abstinence and Safer Sex HIV Risk-Reduction Interventions for African-American Adolescents, A Randomized Trial." JAMA, 279(19), 1529-1536.
-Kirby, Douglas. (1999). "Sexuality and Sex Education at Home and School." Adolescent Medicine: State of the Art Reviews 10(2), 195-209.
-Kirby. (2000, July). "Effective Approaches to Reducing Adolescent Unprotected Sex, Pregnancy, and Childbearing." Report to the Surgeon General.
-NARAL — National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League. (1998, May). "Teens in Crisis: A Comprehensive Strategy to Protect Adolescent Health [Online]. http://www.naral.org/mediaresources...ns_crisis.html."
The U.S. has the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the developed world, and American adolescents are contracting HIV faster than almost any other demographic group. The teen pregnancy rate in the U.S. is at least twice that in Canada, England, France, and Sweden, and 10 times that in the Netherlands. Experts cite restrictions on teens' access to comprehensive sexuality education, contraception, and condoms in the U.S., along with the widespread American attitude that a healthy adolescence should exclude sex. By contrast, the "European approach to teenage sexual activity, expressed in the form of widespread provision of confidential and accessible contraceptive services to adolescents, is . . . a central factor in explaining the more rapid declines in teenage childbearing in northern and western European countries" (Singh & Darroch, 2000).
References:
-Singh, Susheela & Jacqueline E. Darroch. (2000). "Adolescent Pregnancy and Childbearing: Levels and Trends in Developed Countries." Family Planning Perspectives, 32(1), 914.
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/li...eOnly10-01.html |
Here's a nice breakdown of the bogus claim from Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation (that whisper you tend to hear in Bush's ear before announcing his various policies):
http://www.teenpregnancy.org/resour...inence_eval.pdf
or if you don't have Adobe:
www.teenpregnancy.org/resources/dat...+programs&hl=en
And what fumes me and most others about what Waxman brought up was NOT that we are funding abstinence-only programs, but that the Bush Administration was blatantly and willingly LYING to support their case for such programs only, such as:
“5% to 10% of women who have legal abortions will become sterile”
“in heterosexual sex, condoms fail to prevent HIV approximately 31% of the time”
“exposure to sweat and tears [are] risk factors for HIV transmission”
“touching another person’s genitals can result in pregnancy.”
“Women gauge their happiness and judge their success on their relationships. Men’s happiness and success hinge on their accomplishments.”
Yes, I know, it's a real "shocker" for us liberals here to see this Administration use such tactics of distortion to bolster their case for (insert policy here). But that's the problem that continues to persist, and this is really nothing different.
___________________
Whence September dusk grows crisper still,
with leaves all crimson conquered,
I yearn to shout,
and dance about,
and stick pickles in my honker...
|
) but I am extra super safe just to make sure. The last thing I need is a kid running around.
take it like a little bitch!
