Sex Ed

I will be commenting on Abby's post on Senate Bill 521. Her post was informative, well-written, and logical. I also agree with most of her points. All in all she had a very strong argument speaking against SB 521. In the first paragraph, Abby discusses the cost of teen pregnancies in Texas, including cost to taxpayers, problems in health for the teen mothers and children, as well as the negative effects on children produced by teens. A startling fact is that Texas is ranked 4th in the country for teen pregnancies. With that being said, I actually disagreed with her approval of the current sex ed taught to Texas kids. It is barely comprehensive. From my personal experience, we were barely taught about contraceptives and basically told repeatedly that abstinence was the way to go. They also used scare tactics such as showing grisly photos of STDs to deter teens from having sex, as well as downplaying the effectiveness of contraceptives. (Ex. I had one instructor who told the class that even after his wife was on the Pill, using condoms and spermicide, that somehow his wife still got pregnant. Riiiiiiiiight.) But, regardless of our disagreement on the effectiveness of the current Sex Ed program, I wholeheartedly agree with Abby on the fact that SB 521 is a terrible idea. Having parents fill out a form so they can opt their kids in is nonsensical, as many parents forget or fill out forms too late. Many teens will miss an important opportunity to learn about sexual health.