Burnt Orange Report

The Biology Blues

By Andrea M.

George Bush wants more money for Abstinence Only programs.

I'm not sure this is worth $131 million...

(By the way, Happy Thanksgiving, all...:))

This plan is yet another attempt to not only legislate morality, but to show the Christian right that Bush and his minions are ready to play ball with them. It is a dog and pony show, pure and simple. As the gay marriage issue scared people witless into thinking that Adam and Steve on the next block's legal union would shatter the sanctity of marriage, this is a shameless ploy into scaring people, thinking that Susie and Johnny are going to engage in teenage sexual escapades as a result of high school biology classes offering a comprehensive cirriculum that includes methods of birth control.

If properly taught, a comprehensive sex ed program, as opposed to Abstinence Only, is more effective in saving the kids' lives. There is no evidence that Abstinence Only works--as a matter of fact, I have read evidence to the contrary. Do some high schoolers have sex? Yes. Is it a good idea? No, not really. Abstinence education, while it should be taught as part of a program, does not offer education regarding birth control and statistics (it's usually a good idea to prevent unwanted pregnancies), and correct condom use, which, as we all know, prevents many STDs. Abstinence is a good idea, not it is not always a reality. It should be part of the cirriculum, not the whole.

A personal aside here--my sex ed began in 4th grade. It was more thorough beginning in 7th grade and going through high school. The cirriculum included topics such as birth control, STDs, pregnancy, and their consequences. However, here were additional topics such as self-esteem discussions, statistics of birth control failure, and in middle school, a very graphic video of a woman giving birth that scared every female silly. We discussed consequences at length--health-wise, life-wise, stressing that girls who gave birth during high school had a much harder time and were very likely to drop out, therefore possibly forgoing college and a good career. No one I know was inspired to hook up because they could get a condom in school or knew about birth control and sexual consequences. Those who were already sexually active were at least more informed, and protected. They had a better idea of possible outcomes of their actions.

Although I do believe that Bush is concerned about the nation's youth to some extent--after all, he has two daughters--his shameless pandering to the Christian right will inevitably leave millions of young people grossly uninformed, and may lead to increased teen pregnancies and a declivity in propho use, which can result in a serious STD epidemic. Students often get all of their sex ed at school, and they deserve to be informed. We owe it to the next generation to keep them safe and healthy so they can be our future leaders. And Bush owes it to them to finally act like the fiscal conservative he claims to be by refraining from asking for millions of dollars for a program that has yet to prove successful.