Bushco "Birds And Bees" BS

Here’s a bit of a history lesson…

The sexual revolution that began in the 1960s has left two major problems in its wake. The first is the historic increase in non-marital births that have contributed so heavily to the Nation’s domestic problems including poverty, violence, and intergenerational welfare dependency. The second is the explosion of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) that now pose a growing hazard to the Nation’s public health.

To address these problems, the goal of Federal policy should be to emphasize abstinence as the only certain way to avoid both unintended pregnancies and STDs.

I didn’t say it was fact, I just said it was a history lesson – in wingnuttia, I mean.

However, this story tells us the following (from the reality-based community)…

In a troubling reversal, the nation's teen birth rate rose for the first time in 15 years, surprising government health officials who had no immediate explanation.

…

U.S. health officials said it was possibly a one-year statistical blip and not the beginning of a new upward trend.

But several experts said they have been expecting a jump. They blame the increase on increased federal funding for abstinence-only health education programs that do not teach how to use condoms and other contraception.

Some key sexually transmitted disease rates have been rising, including syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. The rising teen pregnancy rate is part of the same phenomenon, said Dr. Carol Hogue, an Emory University professor of maternal and child health.

"It's not rocket science," she said.

Indeed not; you could say that, in terms of accomplishing the goals of reducing both STDs and unplanned pregnancies, “abstinence only” education “doesn’t even make it to second base.”

...

Well, you could, but you don't have to.