When I read an article this morning in the the Texas Tribune about abstinence-only sexual education, I was reminded of my work at Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) in 2009. While working for GMHC's public policy department, I had an opportunity to research various policy issues, write articles, voter's guides and policy briefs. One brief I wrote was on abstinence-only sexual education funds drying up, and President Obama replacing them with evidence-based sexual education. Former US President/Texas Governor George W. Bush was known for supporting public school sexual education programs that encouraged children and adolescents to refrain from having sex; such program did not teach the science behind conception and sexually transmitted infections, nor about condoms and other contraceptives. Studies have even found that children taught abstinence-only, tend to have more gender-biased attitudes, have higher rates of teenage pregnancy and certain sexually transmitted infections. Despite President Obama's support for comprehensive sexual education programs, the Texas health department did not apply for federal funding that would help get these programs off the ground and into Texas public schools.
The Tribune article describes a recent trend in Texas to implement "abstinence-plus" sexual education. While abstinence is still encouraged, children in the seventh and eighth grade will also learn about condoms and other forms of contraception and protection from sexually transmitted infections. This change of heart is the result of an increasingly large number of teenage girls becoming pregnant and growing statistics of contraction of sexually transmitted infections among adolescents, within the state. While we all hope people engage in sex only when they are mature mentally as well as physically, it is not realistic to assume all teenagers will abstain from sex until marriage. Instead, it is better to empower them with the tools (mental and physical tools) to take charge of their sexual health and act responsibly.
