Abstinence Only Programs=The Rise in Teen Pregnancy Rates!
Finally someone has said it. I’d like to thank the Examiner.com for this one sentence:
Teen pregnancy rates have increased dramatically thanks to the abstinence-only education programs that were funded by former President George Bush.
Whether you agree or not, teens should be made aware of all forms of birth control. There are very few things in this life that we are taught to be only one way about. In school you can get A, B, C, D, or F’s. It’s not like if you don’t get an A then you’re kicked out of school. You can prefer Coca Cola to Pepsi. You can like a roller coaster or prefer a log water ride. You can like living in the South, or North or like West Coast Living. You can be a Baptist, Jewish, Catholic, Muslim, etc. So why we would think that teaching young people that the only thing that they should know about birth control is abstinence only? It doesn’t make sense. Life is multiple choice so why shouldn’t their knowledge about birth control be the same?
I look forward to your comments. To read the full story on what The Examiner said about Sex Education, please go here:
Tags: abstinence only programs, sex education, teen pregnancy rates
About the Author
Yasmin Shiraz is the President of Still Eye Rise Films, an independent production company which films educational and thought provoking documentaries that chronicle the lives, traumas and experiences of youth. Her first production, Can She Be Saved?, a documentary that examines violence among middle school girls, was an official selection of the 2009 Roxbury Film Festival and recently won a 2009 Indie Award of Merit from IndieFest.
Yasmin Shiraz is the Award winning Author of Retaliation a novel about a community’s response to youth violence. In 2009, it was selected as one of the top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers by the American Library Association. She is the author of The Blueprint for My Girls: How To Build A Life Full of Courage, Determination & Self Love (Simon and Schuster) and five other books. Her best selling “Blueprint” empowerment series is utilized as a self esteem, motivational, and educational tool at middle and high schools, after school programs, non-profit youth centers, as well as Boys and Girls Clubs throughout the country. 
One Comment for Abstinence Only Programs=The Rise in Teen Pregnancy Rates!
December 10, 2009 at 7:51 am
We need age-appropriate, comprehensive sex education at all stages of life for kids. Information is vital so that they can make informed decisions. Parents do wait too long before teaching kids about sex in this country, and the approaches are too covert. My mom handed me a book about sex when I was in the fourth grade then walked away. Luckily, she had a child who read (no discussion followed either).
We also need to address the fear parents have about sex. It’s as if they haven’t reconciled the poor choices they may have made when they had children. We need to start somewhere so that healthy people make healthy choices.