Let's Not Actually Fix It

Tennessee uses an abstinence-only sex education program. Of course, states that use abstinence-only sex education programs have higher teen pregnancy rates than states that use a more comprehensive method. Teen pregnancy rates are, however, going down overall. "This good shift is largely the result of an increase in teenagers' use of birth control — a fact that Congressional Republicans ignore as they seek to dismantle reproductive health programs" (The New York Times). This is worrying, yet not surprising: Republicans are once again ignoring reality and making another bullshit argument. So instead of using education that involves simply saying, "look, there are these things called condoms. You use those correctly, and you've basically eliminated any chance of becoming pregnant," Tennessee Republicans are amending the law so that they teach against "gateway sexual activities." Of course, they don't take the time to even DEFINE that term in the law. For all we know, teachers may now be required to tell their students, "Don't hold hands, you might end up having sex and getting pregnant!" Instead of fixing the problem, they are creating a "solution" that, unlike tried and tested solutions that actually work, fixes nothing.


Stephen Colbert has a brilliant bit on this "new approach" to sex education.