Theocracy Update: Bush's $1 billion "abstinence only" program fails miserably

C

Cypress

Will work for Scooby snacks
Theocracy Update: Bush's $1 billion "abstinence only" program fails miserably

The theo-cons still don't get it. Abstinence only sex education doesn't work. You have to provide comprhensive sex education. Facts matter more than theology.


$1bn 'don't have sex' campaign a flop as research shows teenagers ignore lessons

It's been a central plank of George Bush's social policy: to stop teenagers having sex. More than $1bn of federal money has been spent on promoting abstinence since 1998 - posters printed, television adverts broadcast and entire education programmes devised for hundreds of thousands of girls and boys.
The trouble is, new research suggests that it hasn't worked. At all.

A survey of more than 2,000 teenagers carried out by a research company on behalf of Congress found that the half of the sample given abstinence-only education displayed exactly the same predilection for sex as those who had received conventional sex education in which contraception was discussed.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2058066,00.html
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Cypress said:
The theo-cons still don't get it. Abstinence only sex education doesn't work. You have to provide comprhensive sex education. Facts matter more than theology.
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This would actually be very funny, except for imagining how many kids you could have fed with one billion dollars.
 
Darla said:
This would actually be very funny, except for imagining how many kids you could have fed with one billion dollars.
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a billion is a lot of money.

You know what bums me out? The Bush admin pushes their theological agenda on other countries, where lives are in the balance. I understand that they try to push these "abstinence only" programs on african countries ravaged by HIV. Which, of course don't work. More comprehensive solutions, and condom distribution programs are what work.

It's fine for theo-cons to play with their pet theological theories - but not when people's lives are on the line.
 
IHateGovernment said:
A good argument for federalism I shall say.
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HIV/Aids doesn't recognize State or Provincial boundaries in any given nation.

There needs to be a national policy based on science and facts. The problem here, is that the Bush policy is based on theology.
 
But put a theocon in charge and your one size fits all approach works in reverse of that.

If different states ran different programs it becomes more clear whos system is working and which isn't.

Let New Jersey run their schools the way Jersians want to and let Texans run theirs their way. We can see which ones work better and allow states to make good decisions from that.
 
IHateGovernment said:
But put a theocon in charge and your one size fits all approach works in reverse of that.

If different states ran different programs it becomes more clear whos system is working and which isn't.

Let New Jersey run their schools the way Jersians want to and let Texans run theirs their way. We can see which ones work better and allow states to make good decisions from that.
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It's already evident. The "just say no" philosophy is in full tilt here, and this region has one of the highest teen pregnancy and STD rates in the nation.
 
Thorn said:
It's already evident. The "just say no" philosophy is in full tilt here, and this region has one of the highest teen pregnancy and STD rates in the nation.
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Yes, I think that is the problem. Facts do not trump ideology. Does anyone think that the fact that abstinence only does not work is going to stop the religious right? I don't.
 
IHateGovernment said:
But put a theocon in charge and your one size fits all approach works in reverse of that.

If different states ran different programs it becomes more clear whos system is working and which isn't.

Let New Jersey run their schools the way Jersians want to and let Texans run theirs their way. We can see which ones work better and allow states to make good decisions from that.
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I was more specifically speaking of Foreign Aid. The U.S. has to have a policy to help fight AIDS in africa, that aggressively promotes condom distribution. This abstinence only stuff is crap to placate bush's religious base. It's not based on any medical, or empirical facts.

I agree that the Feds can't wholesale takeover sex ed in public schools - that would be unconstitutional. But, there can be a federal policy on AIDS/HIV and STDs with respect to research, data, and grants.
 
Cypress said:
The theo-cons still don't get it. Abstinence only sex education doesn't work. You have to provide comprhensive sex education. Facts matter more than theology.
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Try reading the article you posted. The miserable failure of the abstinence program is that it achieved a result indistingushable from the standard comprehensive program.
 
Troglodyte27 said:
Try reading the article you posted. The miserable failure of the abstinence program is that it achieved a result indistingushable from the standard comprehensive program.
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Nice cherry-picking Mr. Wolfowitz....er, I mean Trog. Try reading the entire context of the article:


But even in 1990s Texas, where Mr Bush spent $10m a year on abstinence education, the state had the fifth highest teen pregnancy rate in the US....

In the context of findings like this, health workers and statisticians conclude that it is far better that children have safe sex, with knowledge of and access to contraception, than that they are preached a message of abstinence only to ignore it.....


Now, as for the quote you cherry picked:

"A survey of more than 2,000 teenagers carried out by a research company on behalf of Congress found that the half of the sample given abstinence-only education displayed exactly the same predilection for sex as those who had received conventional sex education in which contraception was discussed."
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The MOST important thing is not to stop sex, trog. That's what theocons are most concerned about.

The MOST important thing is to stop STDs and unwanted pregnancies- with info about condoms, etc.
 
Cypress said:
Nice cherry-picking Mr. Wolfowitz....er, I mean Trog. Try reading the entire context of the article:

But even in 1990s Texas, where Mr Bush spent $10m a year on abstinence education, the state had the fifth highest teen pregnancy rate in the US....

In the context of findings like this, health workers and statisticians conclude that it is far better that children have safe sex, with knowledge of and access to contraception, than that they are preached a message of abstinence only to ignore it.....


Now, as for the quote you cherry picked:

The MOST important thing is not to stop sex, trog. That's what theocons are most concerned about.

The MOST important thing is to stop STDs and unwanted pregnancies- with info about condoms, etc.
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And you're assumnig that every teen who ignored a abstinence program failed to use a "safe Sex." Got any proof?
 
trog, you seemed singularly concerned that an abstinence only kid is having sex at the same rate as a comprehensive ed. kid is.

that's how Theocons think. Its all about sex to them.

The point is, yes we should tell kids not to have sex. But, we should ALSO tell them about their options with regard to contraception and sexual health.

At least arming them with that information, could reduce the chances of STDs and pregnancy.

And isn't STDs and unwanted pregancies really the issue? Surely, you not suggesting that the real issue is merely the act of sex itself?
 
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