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Topic |
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Abstinence |
0 0 0 1 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 |
As you can see, this textbook avoids the very topics about which teenagers most need to know at the age when they begin to engage in sexual activity, including intercourse, as more than half of them will (by their 18th birthday, 6 in 10 teenage women and nearly 7 in 10 teenage men have had sexual intercourse). Believing that students this age will remain abstinent--because that is all that is taught to them in Texas health education classes--is more than unrealistic, it is absurd and dangerous. Keeping students ignorant of honest, reliable, and scientific knowledge about extremely important topics of interest--and forcing them to learn about these topics from their friends or by trial and error (assuming that parents also ignore these topics)--is unbelievably counter-productive and unethical. This is an example of anti-education or miseducation, a crime that should be condemned, not a practice that should be accepted, much less endorsed, by public officials charged with ensuring the quality of health education in Texas.
It is highly likely that some current members of the Texas State Board of Education will attempt to adopt similar health education textbooks in 2004 and thus perpetuate the ignorance, secrecy, and implied shame of human sexuality, thereby leading to the well-known effects of such cruel and misguided education in Texas: high illegitimate teenage pregnancy rate, high rate of sexually-transmitted diseases, high teenage abortion rate, high divorce rate, and similar unfavorable statistics. These undesirable statistics are completely avoidable, because other Western, industrialized countries (e.g., European countries, Japan) have such rates at about 10% of those in Texas, since they provide their students reliable, scientific, and honest instruction about human sexuality. Texas is well-known for its pervasive use of abstinence-only sex education programs, which have been proven to be counterproductive in preventing the very undesirable social behaviors and effects that the programs and their supporters wish to end. Until the Texas SBOE begins to treat human sexuality in an honest and scientifically-realistic manner within the health education curriculum, Texas will continue to have some of the worst sexuality and health statistics in the nation. Texas ranks 5th in teenage pregnancies and 2nd in teenage births (Mississippi is first); because there are so many obstacles to obtaining an abortion in Texas, the state only ranks 26th in teenage abortions.
The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) is a national, nonprofit organization which affirms that sexuality is a natural and healthy part of living. SIECUS develops, collects, and disseminates information, promotes comprehensive education about sexuality, and adovocates the right of individuals to make responsible sexual choices for themselves.
SIECUS Links, the most comprehensive list of links to Web resources about all aspects of human sexuality, reproductive health, and government and private organizations.
Fact Sheet on Sexuality Education
Adolescence and Abstinence Fact Sheet
The Truth about Adolescent Sexuality
What's Wrong with Abstinence-Only
History of Abstinence-Only Program
The documents below will download as PDF files; right click and select "Download Link to Disk" or "Download Target to Disk" or "Save this Link as..."The Truth About Adolescent Sexuality
Adolescense and Abstinence Fact Sheet
Facing Facts: Sexual Health for America's Adolescents
Teenage Pregnancy, Birth and Abortion
Public Support for Sexuality Education
The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI) is a nonprofit organization focused on sexual and reproductive health research, policy analysis, and public education. AGI publishes reports on topics pertaining to sexual and reproductive health and rights. The Institute's mission is to support every individual's ability to obtain the information and services needed to achieve their full human rights, safeguard their health, and exercise their individual responsibilities in regard to sexual behavior and relationships, reproduction, and family formation.
Youth - Information about teenage sexuality and pregnancy, including Teenage Pregnancy Trends by State and Sexuality Education Fact Sheet (both will download as PDF files).
Sexual Behavior - Information about reproductive health and sexual behavior, including Teenagers' Sexual and Reproductive Health (PDF file).
Prevention and Contraception, Family Planning, and State Policies.
And much additional information.
The Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit, private operating foundation focusing on the major health care issues facing the nation. The Foundation is an independent voice and source of facts and analysis for policymakers, the media, the health care community, and the general public.
Sex Education in America: General Public/Parents Survey (Document will download as a PDF file).