Abstinence-only: Custer had a plan, too

[sigma7]

It'd be funny if it weren't so depressing.

An Ohio school board is expanding sex education following the revelation that 13 percent of one high school's female students were pregnant last year.

There were 490 female students at Timken High School in 2005, and 65 were pregnant, WEWS-TV in Cleveland reported.

The new Canton school board program promotes abstinence but also will teach students who decide to have sex how to do so responsibly, bringing the city school district's health curriculum in line with national standards.

Comments

[adele87.livejournal.com]

You know, 65 girls out of almost 500 is a pretty good average, in all honesty. Altho you know how I feel about the abstinance only BS.

Most pregnant teens are either preg. from: a) not using a condom or the pill correctly, b) not using any protection at all.

I think the importance of protection needs to be taught, it's unrealistic to expect teens to not have sex.

[iamstillthemoon.livejournal.com]

Why is it so unrealistic for teens not to have sex? I think it is unrealistic for teens to not have sex in a society as sex-and-drugs diluted as our's. But it is not an impossibility for teens to not have sex.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

Because teens who have sex are Sinners, and Sinners Must Be Punished.

Seriously, if there's something where the choice is to either risk punishing the innocent, or risk NOT punishing the "guilty", all too many people in this country will opt for the first option.

[iamstillthemoon.livejournal.com]

Teens who have sex are sinners, and being punished only means asking forgiveness and taking responsibility for their actions. Pre-marital sexual activity talks promote irresponsibility, not responsibility by promoting the idea that there are no rules in the minds of teenagers. It's disgusting.

[adele87.livejournal.com]

You know, marriage was created by society and churches. Cavemen had "pre-marital sex".

[iamstillthemoon.livejournal.com]

Cavemen never existed because evolution is bunk.

I believe we are set to agree to disagree.

[adele87.livejournal.com]

Yeah and you know what? There was a point when humans were around AND marriage didn't exist either.

[iamstillthemoon.livejournal.com]

Yes, but there was an acknowledged God being served and looked to for guidance in deciding unions as a whole. God made Eve for Adam and therefore they were married under God. They therefore taught their children to look to God for everything--therefore the ritual of marriage was technically there.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

That's the key. Sinners, not lawbreakers (in most states, anyway). Public policy should not be based around SIN. Punishing teens by keeping them ignorant is bad public policy.

[iamstillthemoon.livejournal.com]

Abstinence does not teach ignorance. Abstinence teaches the consequences of sex and says to not do them. It does not keep them ignorant. It keeps them healthy and mentally sound.

[adele87.livejournal.com]

Ok, abstinance education is BS. Kids, esp. before going off to college, need to know about contraception and how to protect themselves from pregnancy (therefore preventing abortion) and STD's.

I was 17 when I found the man I was going to marry, and at 19 became engaged to him and we're living together.

People are falling in love at a much younger age. Not only that, butt people in love deffinately have the urges. Pick up a copy of erotica and see what all the fun is about.

[iamstillthemoon.livejournal.com]

Okay. First of all, learn to spell the idea you disagree with. That is ignorance. School is about learning, not sexuality and the role thereof in teenage society. The society we live in states that at eighteen people are allowed to have sex freely, but that does not mean they cannot fall in love before, save their urges, and get married later. It's about self-control, not being a hedonistic pleasure-seeker and raving about people who don't wish their children to end up sexually depraved, mentally disillusioned, and clingy as all get out.

And just because I back up abstinence does not mean I do not know what erotica is or what sex is about. It is ignorant to label me as an ignorant Christian moron, even in a joking manner.