Religious right win a major victory in teen pregnancy

Easy access to abortion drugs

Allan

Teen pregnancy rates are at all-time lows.

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They don’t care that it will lead to more pregnancies and abortions. It’s about slut-shaming, nothing else.

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Do you REALLY believe that pregnancy happens because people DON’T KNOW about condms and the pill?

Do newly pregnant women ACTUALLY say “Huh? I never heard of those. What are they for?”

Well, like eating Tide Pods, condoms have another use other than that for which they’re intended. The latest trend in acting stupid & posting it on social media is condom snorting.

So no, I don’t think young people are clueless about condoms.

IMO They’re more interested in their potential Darwin Award use than as contraception. Hey, maybe that Darwin Award IS their form of contraception!

Some young people don’t know how condoms are properly used or how the pill works, yes. Lots of adults too.

Access is a real problem, as Texas found out when it cut funding to condom distribution programs.

Do you think comprehensive sex ed programs are really only about telling people about condoms and the pill?

Fact is, comprehensive programs work. Abstinence only…not so much. You heaped scorn on the comprehensive program and implied it didn’t work (i.e. “definition of insanity” crack implies something isn’t working). So I pointed out that teen pregnancies are at historic lows…which implies SOMETHING is working.

Although tbh, I lean more toward’s Sneaky’s position on the matter. I don’t see how this can’t be handled at the state and local level, and federal dollars spent on other things.

Anyone who can’t figure out how to use a condom has a functional literacy problem. Or a natural stupidity problem. How is access to something that isn’t properly used going to help? Maybe Texas is onto something here as the latest stupid trend is condom snorting.

There aren’t religions that teach standards other than just “going with nature”?

No one sincerely abides by them?

And many whose sex drive is “turned up” and find themselves in unwanted pregnancy aren’t teens.

Texas re-instituted funding within a year because of the massive spike in low income pregnancies. Ended up costing them a couple hundred million.

As for knowing how to use it properly…

do you know how to use a condom?

Yeah, this is Pence’s influence, not Trump’s.

A guy that cheats on all of his wives and was cheating with other women on Melania is NOT the person pushing abstinence.

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You’ve asked this and it has been answered.

No one is bemoaning sex ed that including abstinence. What people are bemoaning is and emphasis or focus mostly on abstinence in lieu of covering many methods of sexual education.

As others have pointed out to you, with stats, multiple times, the teen pregnancy rate has declined, and that didn’t happen as a result of abstinence-only education. If you want to know how that worked out, a recent VP candidate can probably tell you how much that worked out for her family.

Have you seen evidence that sex-ed programs push teens to have sex? I thought it was about giving them the facts and means to protect themselves against unintended pregnancy and STDs if they chose to engage in sexual intercourse, not actively encouraging them to do it.

Do you mean do I know of a program that says, “Teens, go have sex!”? That answer is no. However, I am aware of programs that approach the matter, as "When you have sex, use protection to prevent STDs and pregnancy. With teens, this sends the message that it is okay to have sex if you do it right.

Many teens want to do what is right. Presenting them with a program of abstinence and the values of abstinence will reach many teens–and will convince them if it is right for them. They now have facts to block peer pressure to just go ahead and do it. For those who decide they are going to do it, they have the facts presented to them in the biology portion of sexuality to prevent pregnancy and STDs.

Abstinence does not mean neglecting to teach them the biology of sex, including STDs and pregnancy and how to prevent these from occurring as part of the biology.

I know this is anecdotal, but several years ago I knew a young lady who was pressured into having sex. She was too young, didn’t really like it, and convinced herself she was lesbian. She then tried that for a time, discovered that wasn’t what she was, either, and decided she must be bisexual.

Teens still have a lot of growing up to do. Let’s encourage them that there is more than enough time for sex once they hit their twenties and finish growing both physically and psychologically.

Ok then. You noted your disbelief over how many adults are out there who “want to encourage and push teens into going ahead with having sex” and I was curious what your experience with that was.

Do you have any objection to sex-ed programs that include abstinence as part of their curriculum? That was what I remember about it during my time in high school - as in “Abstinence is the only means of preventing pregnancy and STDs that is 100% effective. If you do choose to have sex, however, here are the means by which you can best mitigate the risks.” It neither encouraged nor discouraged students, just laid out the facts.

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Have you heard/read males say, “If a friend of mine said in my presence what Trump said about a female, I’d set him straight right away!” Very good. What about also asking, what they think about young male teens having sex before they can even support themselves.

In answer to your question, of course I have no objection to that. Do you object to young teens being firmly told, “No sex until you are out supporting yourself.” Or is it okay to give the nod to young males to treat their female counterparts as recreational sex objects as long as they both use protection?

Unless you can point to evidence showing that sex-ed programs instruct or encourage young males to treat young females this way, then you are deliberately misrepresenting what is being taught by them.

Not at all. I am telling you what young males conclude from sex ed programs–and I should know as I overhear conversations. And yes, this is after sex ed programs that include both abstinence and protection. All I am saying is that society is being a bit hypocritical when it shrugs off teen sex as no big deal. It is a big deal. Shouldn’t we all be glad about the “Major Victory in Teen Pregnancy”? Are you glad?

Again, sex-ed is not presenting sex as “no big deal.” It is presenting students with the information they need to mitigate the risks against unwanted pregnancy and STDs should they decide to be sexually active.

If reports are accurate then current teen pregnancy rates are at an all-time low. Donald wants to shift federal funding to abstinence-only programs, deliberately undermining the efforts and results of comprehensive sex-ed. That may be a “major victory” for the religious right but it’s not for society at large, and in that context my answer is no - I’m not glad.

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