With the CDC publishing teen pregnancy rates for 2008 this week and with the return of MTV's 16 and Pregnant (a guilty reality TV pleasure of mine), I got to thinking about why the South, including Texas, is so clueless when it comes to sex education. Overall teen pregnancy rates have dropped from the spike of teen births in 2007, but the South continues to be the leader in number of babies born to teens. An article written by The Hill's Mike Lillis points out the connection between that states that stress abstinence only education, mainly in the South, have much higher rates of teen pregnancy than the states the teach comprehensive sex education.
So how does Texas measure up? Not very well. Texas, along with its Southern neighbors Oklahoma, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Arkansas, all had high rates of 60 per 1,000 births belonging to 15-19 year-old girls. According to change.org, currently local school boards "determine how or if, sex education will be implemented in the school curriculum." If a school district decides that sex education will be apart of the curriculum, that school must stress abstinence only education. Conversely, in a state like Massachusetts, comprehensive sex education programs that not only teach abstinence but also birth control methods and availability, have a much lower teen pregnancy rate.
Texas, as a part of the conservative South, falls in line with the family values trend that preaches abstinence only education and turns a blind eye to what today's youth is actually doing. Teens are having sex, this is pretty clear given the teen pregnancy rates. With this knowledge of teens having sex, why not give them the information and access to prevent unwanted pregnancies? Progressive areas in the country such as New England have taken this approach to sex education and their states have some of the lowest teen pregnancy rates, New Hampshire has the lowest rate in New England and the country.
I'm not naive enough to think that this is the only answer to help prevent teen pregnancies. As a teen mom myself, I had the knowledge and access to birth control to prevent becoming pregnant but just didn't think it would happen to me. Teenagers tend to think that they are invincible and have the view that pregnancy happens to other people, not to them. Schools can teach and give kids the information to be safe, but for an overall effect parents need to drive the point home. Government and schools can only help kids so much, parents need to be responsible as well and give their children the tools and information to prevent an unwanted pregnancy. Comprehensive sex education isn't the only answer to stopping teen pregnancy, but it's a better solution than what Texas has in place now. Hopefully someday Texas and the South will catch up with the rest of the country and offer real solutions to teenagers about preventing pregnancy.
You make a great argument concerning the rate of teen pregnancy in Texas, and I agree that teaching abstinence only to our kids is a poor choice. It might be that parents, as well as those in leadership in Texas, are concerned that teaching students about safe sex or making contraceptives available for them will convey a message that sex among minors is acceptable, or that it's not that big of a deal. But educating them about the dangers of unprotected sex (not just sexual transmitted diseases but also unplanned pregnancy and the burden it can place on families and the society) must be considered more important than it is. I absolutely agree that it is the job of parents to teach their children good principles and how to be responsible citizens, but just telling your children that it isn't safe and they shouldn't do it isn't enough. I wouldn't condone my children to have sex before marriage even, but it would be irresponsible of me as a parent if I didn't tell them about measures of safety that could be taken to prevent untimely pregnancy or spread of disease.
ReplyDeleteIn Emily's post "Once again, the South is Behind", on her blog Texas Politics, she discusses teen pregnancy rates in Texas and offers solutions in how to reduce the number of teen pregnancies. I agree with her that abstinence education is not the best method. I think teaching students that abstinence is best makes talking about sex a taboo. Then as these students become parents, they have a harder time talking to their children about sex. I went to high school in Ohio and my school did not teach abstinence, but there were several pregnant girls in my school. I think seeing pregnant teens makes more teen girls think it's okay to get pregnant and with shows like "16 and Pregnant", it makes it popular. I don't believe that just reforming education will help that much in reducing teen pregnancies, I think it's society as a whole. Emily also makes a great point in saying that the key to preventing teen pregnancies is with the parents. I definitely agree with that. As a teen, the only sex talk I have with my mom was her telling me that I would wait until I was married to have sex, and that was after I already had. Luckily, I did not get pregnant as a teen, but I wish my mom made talking about sex with her easier.
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