President Obama vs. Bristol Palin on Abstinence-Only Education

Has the world gone mad? This is not an either or debate. Abstinance only can be promoted, while at the same time recognizing that some will not stay with it. At least they would delay for as long as possible. You can say abstinance is best, but if you cannot wait any longer, here is how you protect yorself. After all, abstinence is best. Pregnancy is not the only concern, how about the spread of disease. Teens need to learn the serious consequences of their actions. I think that Bristol would be a great spokesperson because she has credibility in sharing the fact that being a teen mother is not picnic. If she could go back and do it all over again, she would probably choose differently. I think it’s a bad idea to take the approach that teens are just going to have sex, most likely unprotected at that, so here is how to get an abortion. Is this what everyone wants for their own teen?

Best plan for stopping teen pregnancy: No government support and tax breaks for having kids. Runner up: educating kids about herpes, because marriages can fail, but herpes is forever.

Lisa said: “You can say abstinence is best, but if you cannot wait any longer, here is how you protect yourself.”
Then you’re sending mixed messages, and totally undercutting the abstinence message. The bottom line is that teaching abstinence-only simply doesn’t work.
Lisa also said: ” I think it’s a bad idea to take the approach that teens are just going to have sex, most likely unprotected at that, so here is how to get an abortion.”
Where did that come from?!?!? Where is abortion mentioned? They’re talking about teaching kids SAFE SEX. And here’s a newsflash – kids ARE just going to have sex. With or without your advice or consent. That’s a reality. HOW the adults respond to this reality is the question here.
What I don’t get is why there were two $100 million dollar programs needed to tell kids, ‘Don’t have sex’. Who received this money and what did they do with it?

Sarah Palin: the queen of the do as I say NOT as I do party. Just saying no to sex with no education or tools is a TOTAL joke! You betcha! Hey Sarah keep your ice age ideas in Alsaka please!

How much does it cost Obamas’ government for Bristle Palin to come out and be a teenage voice for abstinence?
ZERO $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$!!
Get a grip……take on the Right Wing Extremest Veterans and leave the kids alone!

To the poster who commented that abstinance only programs can be supplemented with information on how to protect yourself, you have missed the point of abstinance ONLY education. Proponets of that approach (mainly Christian conservatives) argue that providing information about birth control undermines the abstinance message. They oppose providing any information on birth control to teenagers. That’s why abstinance only programs are so utterly ineffective. The approach advocated by most liberals is to discuss abstinance as just one possibile way to prevent pregnancy while also providing teens with information about and access to other forms of brith control.

“Wow.. Palin = Hypocrite. Must be in the DNA”
Some people who have been involved in DUI accident deaths go from high school to high school pleading kids not to drink and drive.
According your logic, they’re hypocrites too.
How dare they!

What’s taught in the inner cities?
ANYTHING?
What’s the out of wedlock birth rate in DC? How’s that working out?
Detroit? New York City? New Orleans? San Franscisco?
Where is the shining success?

drjohn wrote: “What’s taught in the inner cities?
ANYTHING?
What’s the out of wedlock birth rate in DC? How’s that working out?
Detroit? New York City? New Orleans? San Franscisco?
Where is the shining success?”
That’s a good argument. My opinion is that this move is a long-term political strategy for the democrats: what political affiliation will the offspring of these people likely have?

Thank god. Abstinence only is the most misguided program possible with regard to sex-education. Yes, abstinence is the only 100% effective route, but any time you are denying factual information to someone, it amounts to dishonesty. Teens loathe dishonesty in adults, and tend to rebel against it. I received excellent health education at my private school (not bound by public school rules), and I and many of my friends chose abstinence over the responsibilities and threats to our futures that came with having sex too soon.

“Yes, tell us how well strict gun control has worked to curb crime in DC.”
What do you mean by ‘strict’? Many would argue that there has never been any such thing.

Great decision to axe these expensive and ineffective programs. It wouldn’t cost me $100 million to advise my child of the advantages of abstaining from sex. And that’s really all they were doing with these programs, correct? And at that, it wasn’t making any positive difference as it was intended to. So we move on, quit throwing good money after bad.

I don’t know how we got focused on DC, but you go ahead and google ‘US mayors guns’ and then tell me why the mayors of almost all of our major cities are clashing with the NRA over gun control.

“What do you mean by ‘strict’? Many would argue that there has never been any such thing.”
Do you mean like martial law, house to house sweeps? Yikes!
With regard to birth control are we talking ‘strict’ as in chastity belts? I would rather just tell students cautionary tales like Bristol Palin.
She has credibility in saying abstinence is the only 100% effective method to prevent pregnancy. Children and young adults want us to draw the line. The want to know their limits and what is acceptable to us. They may not adhere but they want to know. They don’t need more friends to egg them on, they need parents to tell them “Don’t!”
Bristol Palin is a young woman who was very publicly humiliated by the press during a very unfortunately timed private crisis.
She and her family dealt with it with grace and love but she has become the poster child for teenage pregnancy, whether she wants to be or not, and she has picked up this mantle by trying to help others. Amazing.

“eliminating funding for ineffective abstinence-only programs is a win for science. The Obama budget proposal invests in programs that are effective and based on sound science, rather than wasting millions of dollars on efforts that have been proven to be ineffective at best.”
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That’s a ridiculous statement. SCIENCE tells us abstinence is the only sure way to avoid pregnancy. Why do people think they make themselves look smart by invoking the word “science”?
I don’t believe abstinence-only is a good educational program, and we’ve never lived in a district that taught it. I’d be surprised if more than a small minority of schools actually teach an abstinence-only curriculum. I know Bristol Palin was taught birth control and didn’t use it.
But using oneself as an example of what not to do is a time-honored tradition.

SKIP….here is the problem.
Those stupid mayors should be F-O-C-U-S-I-N-G on the CRIMINALS who USE GUNS!!!
PEROID!!

Bristol Palin will be a excellent spokeswoman for this organization. I think it is great. It is going to be Mr. Obama’s problem.

Arrgh! “intelligent”

The people that are screaming about “abstinence only”, are the exact same people whose daughters are on their knees RIGHT NOW.
You people really need to wake up and face facts. Your “sweet”, “innocent”, “little” girl is….
SERVICING THE OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAM !!!!!!

The point of school is to teach kids how to function in the adult world. We focus on abstinence for kids but what about when they become adults. Once these kids are adults (when sex is not as taboo) they are uneducated and ill-prepared to make responsible decisions about sex. Should a married couple who doesn’t want kids right away practice abstinence only? Or, should they have the tools and education to make smart choices for themselves?

The lowest teen pregnancy rates are in the northeast, which is predominately liberal and they teach informed sexual education. The proof is in the pudding. Red states have the highest teen pregnancy rates AND the highest divorce rates.

“Having her as a spokesperson for abstinence is ludicrous.”
Yeah. That would be like getting former drug users to teach the evils of drugs. Or reformed alcoholics to teach the danger of alcohol. Or ex-cons to —–Exactly. Educators make exactly that point. To show a group of kids someone who is clean, has their act together that doing drugs is a mistake is not a good idea. It is supposed to deter kids yet it sends the opposite message, you can screw up, do drugs, but it’s actually OK, look at me, I survived and now i’m so ‘it” i am here as your spokes person. You want to show someone to say drugs is wrong, show obituary reports. Show them reports of folks who never bounced back. Take a walk down skid row and look at the bums sleeping on the streets drunks. It is ridiculous to put a celebrity from a wealthy family and say’ oh my life is so hard’. really???? Living on welfare, are ya???? No, go walk down the inner city street to a women’s shelter and meet THEM. far better more realistic view of what will happen to you if you get pregnant and have hte baby and dont use birth control.

No. Simply taking a pledge won’t work but it seems that pills, condoms or even teaching it doesn’t seem to work either. We can cite statistics that say that teenage births are down but do we also cite that perhaps abortions have gone up?
If a child is born out of wedlock it is proven that that child will also have a greater chance of doing the same but in a society where anything goes I think we are fighting a battle, both with and without tax payer support,that won’t be won regardless of what “scientific” measures are taken.
Personal responsibility wcould help but rememebr we live in a time when one makes a “mistake” that the government has a team of well paid individuals, that depend on this behavior for their jobs, waiting in the wings to hand out aid for the mother of the baby while the father often strolls on down the street looking for fresh material. Sad.

Republicans scream for budget cuts as long as the cuts don’t affect the programs that fit their agenda. Abstinence-based programs are a waste of money. They don’t work.

State of Alaska has one of the highest percentages of teen pregnancies in the nation…and how well did an abstinence only program help them, only need to look at Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol. Need to have a thorough sex education class…once teenagers know what if’s some will hold off and become abstinent…because if educated, they realize they are now responsible for their personal consequences.

“Because they’re ideological democrat hacks?”
Are you telling me that you think mayor Bloomberg is a Democratic hack? I like that little disclaimer you put on the end of your last post about ‘here in the states’. It says alot.

If we want to discuss Science with regard to educational programs let’s turn to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)report of October, 2008. The reports does not support or verify President Obama speculation that all methods of abstenance eduaction do not reduce teen pregnancy. In fact, the 2004 pregnancy rate for teenagers was the lowest ever reported since the national series of estimates began in 1976. In fact the trend is down with over a 38 percent overall drop from 1990-2004. It would appear there is a large body of data that does not support his decision. Teen pregnancy rates are down. Look it up ABC!

Itchy, despite the fact you disagree with her being a spokesperson for abstinence, it’s rather cruel to call her a moron. We do not live her life and we shouldn’t condemn her by calling her names…I too disagree with her being a spokesperson for abstinence only…having a well paying job as a spokesperson and ditching school to do it, is sending a mixed message to these young girls.

Alcoholics Anonymous is abstinence based education… and statistic prove it’s the most effect treatment, for those that can do it.
Narcotics Anonymous is abstinence based education and it is highly effective.
The Great Smoke Out is an abstinence based Tobacco wareness program that while not perfect, brings results from a small investment.
No Treatment is perfect, but we must use all tools at hand. Remember it only has to prevent 50,000 pregnancies or abortions to pay dividends.

You can’t argue with Bristol that the only 100% way not to get preggers is to abstain. But then she’s doing a song and dance with a 180 degree spin. Hello!! It wasnt that long ago when she said that abstenence wasnt realistic. Has everyone gone ADD and can’t connect the longer term dots?

Good for you Obama–need some common sense coming from the Federal level….

Liberals….
On one hand they promote former drug users/addicts as the best people to push the anti-drug message, but because this is the daughter of the woman they fear the most on the planet, she can’t work at promoting this issue because of her own expereinces.
She is the daughter of a leader on “ther side” so she must be demonized. Will these people be this critical of Alex rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, etc… when they inevitably get into the anti-steroids campaigns?
Are they out there openly criticizing AAA members for going into schools and trying to get young teens not to drink?

McNugget, I totally agree. The GOP and it’s members have done absolutely nothing constructive since they lost the election. Not one thing. I never thought that I would ever see the day when the party of Ronald Reagan would be this pathetic. So sad.

I think the President is taking a realistic approach and that he isn’t allowing his ideals to rule the decision making process.

Very smart move on Obama’s part.
Another Palin who has no idea on what they are talking about.
Obama knows that abstinence only does not work and to spend money on that program is a huge waste.
Britol Palin cannot tout that she has a miracle and then in the same breath wish she had waited.
Complete hypocrisy..
Palin’s need to stay in Alaska where the people love them… we here in the lower 48 know they are full of it and dont buy the crap they are pushing.
Thank goodness our President didn’t buy into it and knows a stinker when he smells it.
Thanks Obama for making a great decision.

State of Alaska has one of the highest percentages of teen pregnancies in the nation…and how well did an abstinence only program help them, only need to look at Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol
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phallon- neither Bristol’s school, nor Alaska has an abstinence-only educational program. Furthermore, Sarah Palin does not support abstinence-only education.
Bristol is merely telling teenagers that abstinence is the only way guaranteed to keep girls from getting pregnant.
That should not be controversial.

TruthHurts, I appreciate that you use recognized research statistics to support your assertions. Unfortunately, your reasoning is specious and plain wrong. A.A. and A.N. have horrible success rates (2-5%) at best (look it up). Moreover, comparing them to teen pregnancy prevention programs seems a real stretch. Also, implying that the downward trend in teen pregnancies is somehow due to abstinence only programs is just foolish. The real reason that teen pregnancies have declined is because of increased condom use and other factors–not abstinence. The Obama Administration is aware of these facts and are taking the correct steps.

How about promoting “Saving Yourself” for someone who is REALLY going to love, appreciate and RESPECT you? Raging hormones, fine; boys and girls are not animals, unable to control their urges. Does anyone here really think that teenage sex is a good thing? How about turning this into a positive, praising abstinence and making it the model? I don’t think all kids will buy into this, but how about making something good and healthy? Something to strive for?

May Bee:
From NBC’s Katie Primm and Mark Murray
By the way, as has been pointed out, Palin backed abstinence-only education during her 2006 gubernatorial race.
It is common knowledge that Palin supported abstinence as it was so ironic her own teenage daughter got knocked up. Use birth control. How hard is it to do that? Its not just teenagers having unwanted pregnancies, there are many adults out there who shouldn’t have kids EVER, but continue to shoot them out like PEZ. Sterilization!!!!

IndenturedServant, I’m not sure how you linked abortion to preventing teen pregnancies. I’m also not even sure what your point is and how it relates to this article. However, I would generally agee with you that abortion is a tragic approach to birth control. I definitely do not share your cynical view of democrats.

Oh now, c’mon…what she’s doing is just fine. Both her and her child’s father were on TV saying that they used protection and that apparently, it didn’t work. Bristol is obviously having a rough time being a teen mom and wants to warn other teens against it. So in her logic, she’s saying, “We used protection and I still got knocked up!” and is now presenting abstinence as the only other option (seeing as “safe” sex didn’t work).
Whether you choose to believe she used protection or not is up to you.

“I definitely do not share your cynical view of democrats.”
I did not come to this relevation on my own. I spoke to a number of middle-aged women (50-ish) during the 2008 presidential campaign and was told they could never vote for a Republican because they had had abortions in college. They expressed disdain for Biden and uncertainty about Obama, but they would not ever consider voting any other way.
The abortion information is pertinent because some do not really consider those who abort as part of the teen pregnancy rate, since they consider it a means of birth control, on par with a condom.

I have no problem with abstinence being included in age appropriate sex education. It is inarguably the only certain way to avoid STDs and unwanted pregnancy. Having said that, abstinence ONLY sex education is nothing short of criminal negligence! Ineffectual programs like Abstinence Only sex education are indicative of the disproportionate influence of the Christian Right on American society; a situation greatly exacerbated by the Bush Administration. It is a great relief to see the Obama administration implementing more comprehensive, effective programs based on data and peer reviewed studies versus religious philosophy and self-righteous, hypocritical dogma!

Indentured, if the 50-ish women you spoke of indeed feel that way then I feel sorry for them. It sounds like they are really republicans and should reconcile with their conscience. However, I doubt there are many women overall that have this predicament. Personally, I find what really differentiates liberals and conservatives is how they manage fear. And the social conservative agenda is clearly fear-based: God fearing, afraid of homosexuality, afraid of same-sex marriage, afraid of terrorists, afraid of other religions, afraid of people who look and think differently, afraid of federal government, etc. What I would like to see from conservatives is to live their beliefs and stop talking about them so much.

Bristol was a naive choice for this job….mostly because, I doubt, she will produce the results this group would like.
She is attracting more attention as a poor messenger than their silly message is attracting.
She merely underscores the appearance of Republican hypocrisy……Not something Republicans or the Religious Right, probably, had hoped for.

Britt-
That bit of disinformation is just further evidence of what an awful job the press did in covering Sarah Palin during the election.
In truth (via the LA Times)
” In a widely quoted 2006 survey she answered during her gubernatorial campaign, Palin said she supported abstinence-until-marriage programs. But weeks later, she proclaimed herself “pro-contraception” and said condoms ought to be discussed in schools alongside abstinence.
“I’m pro-contraception, and I think kids who may not hear about it at home should hear about it in other avenues,” she said during a debate in Juneau.”

The worst day of Sarah Palin’s life was the day McCain walked into her front door.—-she should have said ‘no’. She should have had some humility that she knew nothing about law, nothing about the constitution, nothing about finance, or wallstreet, had zero education in anything relatable to laws or finance, banking, had no background in it and she was not qualified. She had a new developmentally challenged child to think about and a pregnant daugther. It was not a good time for her to go after her career. Clearly there were more qualified folks in the country who could be VP.

Amazing! $200M in ineffective programs who sole purpose was to convince kids to stay virgins until they are married. But don’t talk about contraceptives because that would be “condoning” sex. What a fantasy they live in! Talk about wasteful spending. A better program might have included all forms of birth control, including abstinence, and a factual sex education that gets straight to the point with no moral judgements. Kids should get that at home and church. Unfortunantely, right-wingers hate sex ed, saying that kids should be taught that at home. Unfortunately, most right-wingers are so screwed up sexually that that never happens. If the right-wingers had they way, thousands of unwanted children would flood our social services network to ultimately end up in our judicial system. I’m sure that is what Jesus would have wanted.

It is nice to come back out of the “dark ages” our former President put us in. The party, however, is evidently still suffering from the same delusionary supporters that drove many of us away.

The Christian Right is ruining this country. Wanting America to be a warrior nation living in the Dark Ages. They would have America become a third world Taliban like nation. Fortunately they’re a dying minority and America has seen what these people really represent and it’s not the Christainity Jesus spoke of. Politicians need to reject this bunch of looney tunes! Sarah Palin is a full flegged member of these religious wack jobs.

Reply to Indentured: It has nothing to do with fear or being a “liberal” or “conservative”. It has to do with common sense, rational thought and real life solutions. Unfortunately, the one party and its “base” just doesn’t get that. I always can tell people who have no real life solutions or thinking ability. They always have to fall back on “labeling” people to support their arguments. That just plain does no good or does not help solve anything.

CND FOX, I’m certain the irony of your post escapes you.
Bristol Palin and her mother were/are constantly and contemptuously labeled. Just read some of the posts here and you will see how some attack a teenage mother trying to make the best of a difficult situation.

Oh, Rick, teach us more about President Obama’s bumbling lack of effective leadership.

Reply to Jefferson” No, there was no irony there, intended or unintended. If you want to believe and tout the “liberal” media garbage, that is up to you. I just find that most people or parties who use that line are just bankrupt when it comes to real life, rational ideas and solutions. It was her decision to come to the forefront with a singular minded program that had no rational reason of being passed by the former President. That is not the media’s fault.

Jefferson: She doesn’t have a difficult situation. She has family support, roof over her head, she and her baby are well fed and clothed. She has the opportunity to finish school and instead she’s ditching it to be spokesperson. Finish college, start a career, and wait till married for the second child.

<<>>
How magnanimous of you to be so dismissive of others. It sounds like you have committed this missive to memory so you never have to consider other people’s opinions. That is a very close-minded way to go through life.

Jeffers, I disagree but I respect your opinion.
“I think the negativity and ‘hate’ you see reflected in threads such as this is a backlash to the hypocrisy and horrific actions of the Bush administration and the people who supported them. We’re sick of senseless war, greed, terrorism, rape of the environment, and so forth.”
Doesn’t this run counter to:
“It’s a desire to move the world toward peace rather than war, harmony with nature and protection of the environment, social justice, respect and tolerance for all belief systems.”
The peace, love and understanding appears to have taken a back seat to vitriol, hate and scorched earth tactics. Why become worse than what you “hate”? When will you (in general) have exacted your pound of flesh and go back to the respect and tolerance parts?
“The Palins are a lightning rod for controversy because they have been repeatedly shown to be unintelligent, make poor choices, and basically hypocritical.”
Again we disagree. The Palins have shown to be a very loving and strong family. Who’s family doesn’t have struggles but most of us do not have to deal with them in the public eye.
I think there is a battle going on between urban/suburban and small towm/rural communities. Urban areas are blue, rural area are red.
There is a lot of misunderstanding on both sides. There is a natural disagreement on government policies based on needs, social environment and population. Urbanites are more willing to give up their individualism for a perceived greater good. Rural areas take pride in their individualism and only want help when they cannot handle a problem themselves.
It was only about a hundred years ago that we went from being a mostly agrarian to a mostly urban/industrial society.
Governor Palin rose from a successful PTA president to a very highly rated governor of her state. That takes a certain drive, intelligence and record of accomplishment. Dismissing her due to where she lives or how the late night comedians skewered her is taking the easy way out.
She is an incredibly accomplished woman and I find her outdoorsmanship and zest for life refreshing. I do think the pro-choice people will always judge her harshly due to their own insecurities.
“I’m not saying that Bristol is bad person, I just think she’s a poor choice for a spokesperson on sexual abstinence and should stay out of the public limelight.”
Once again, we are looking at her through different ends of the telescope. You see her as small and insignificant, a poor choice.
I see her life experiences to be her greatest strength. I see her lot in life magnified by her willingness to share her journey with other teens to help them see the real consequences of teen sex. The father of the baby got cold feet after planning to marry, I’m guessing a lot of “I love you’s” were spoken between them.
Bristol still has to finish high school while trying to raise a baby.
I can see some teens say to themselves, “Look, it (pregnancy) happened to the daughter of a governor, the daughter of a VP candidate, it can happen to anyone who chooses to have sex before they are ready to raise a child (a possibility and consequence of not practicing abstenance). Maybe, we should wait.”
If she does a little good, why put a target on her back. Why would President Obama purposefully talk up this part of his budget? It makes him appear as bitter and spiteful as some of the posters who go way beyond common decency.
Thanks for the conversation.

Good luck to Bristol! She appears to have a supporting mother, but that should not be a blank check for making abstinence only transcend from a private approach to full-fledged public policy, as has been tried in recent years.

Thank goodness that Obama is going to push for a more common-sense approach than this abstinence only nonsense. That’s never worked, never will. Some will always have sex, and providing education and easy access to birth control can keep that from becoming a huge mistake that ruins so many bright futures. European countries don’t have our purtanical approach to sex, yet we are the ones with the highest teen pregnancy rate. Why? How about their openness and willingness to provide good sex education and easy access to free or inexpensive birth control. The results of each approach is all too clear – abstinence only is a disasterous failure.

“Obama needs to get some common sense fast!”
Actually, in this case, I think he’s given some common sense to the issue of teenage sex education and teen pregnancy! It was the silliness of the Bush era that left us with this abstinence only nonsense. That was where we lost our common sense.

“Obama needs to get some common sense fast!”
I think he’s actually showing some real common sense, funding a commonsense approach to teen sex education. We need to provide information and easy birth control access to teens, to keep one mistake from becoming two – with lifelong consequences.

Indentured, while I generally disagree with your point of view, I do appreciate the thoughtfulness of your replies. There is wisdom in many of the things you said and room for both agreement and disagreement. I wish more conservatives could dialog like you. We might actually find common ground.

“I wish more people remembered that Bristol Palin is just a kid. A scared kid whose private indiscretion was viciously plastered across the internet, the evening news and the tabloids. She’s a brave kid.”……….. OH PLEASE I’ve had enough of this one. Her mother chose to run, knowing she was pregnant, and her mother made a statement to the press about it. It got reported. WHAT is vicious here?

Anyone want to argue that maybe FEDERAL money has no business attempting to shape someone’s sexual ethic? Reject the premise.

I would have loved to seen Palin as VP then president……she and most everyone else would have been much better than the morons Obama and Biden, but her daughter needs to get a clue.

I wonder what Obama teaches HIS kids.

The Gop , Rnc and Religious Right Strong Armed The Bush Admin For Abstinence Only Programs In Return For Votes And It All Worked Out For Bush , Now As For Teenage Girl It Did Not Work-Out So Well Because They Just Had Unprotected Sex And Got Pregnant So The Whole Thing Is A Bust , Nature Will Win Ever Time. Now The Better Solution Would BE Teach Abstinence And What To Do If That Does Not Work For You.(Birth Control And Condoms That Is )But The Radicule Right Will Never Get This.

It’s amazing that people honestly believe that teens are incapable of self-control. What do you parents teach your kids? That it’s OK to drop your pants whenever you feel like it? How’s about teaching your kids that if you want something, just put it on the credit card! You can just make monthly payments for the next 20 years to pay for it – no big deal. You want to have a diet of Big Macs and fries every night? Why not? If you have a job, it’s your money and you should be able to eat whatever you want.
How ridiculous is that? You teach your kids self control in ALL areas of their life – including sex. As a family counselor, I’ve seen more teen’s lives messed up by having a sexual relationship before they were mature enough to handle it. Sex and teens is a recipe for disaster every time, and I have 30 years of experience to back this up. Self control must be taught from early childhood. Kids who are taught this are much happier and content as adults. Teens are not mature enough emotionally to handle a sexual relationship. Kudos to Bristol Palin for being honest enough to admit she made a mistake. You want your kids to be truly happy during their teen years? Tell them to keep their pants up. That is 100% effective against STD’s and teen pregnancy. Parents, DO YOUR JOB!

Mom of 4-
Pay attention to science, Abstinence Only education DOES NOT WORK. Is Abstinence a sure fire way to prevent pregnancy and STD’s, sure it is and i’m sure those who practice are plenty happy; but the problem is that those who are raised on Abstinence only education DO NOT practice it. As the studies have shown those who are raised on Abstinence Only Education are just as likely to engage in sex as those raised without it. Those who make the pledge later go on to break it. “You can take a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink it”
You see the problem with Abstinence only education is the fact that those who are taught it, often go on to break it and leave it… however since Abstinence ONLY education only tells teens not to have sex, it does not go far enough to tell them about safe sex and how to protect themselves should they engage in sex. The end result as the studies show, are teens who are just as likely to engage in sex as other teens, but less likely to use methods of birth control.
Hell Bristol Palin is living proof of the failure; she was raised by a mother who is a strong advocate for abstinence only education, and yet she ended up as unwed and pregnant at the age of 17.
You want self control? how about the self control to engage in safe sex, to be responsible, and to take every measure needed so that you can have sex but still prevent pregnancy and STD’s. This is the kind of things that are taught by teen pregnancy prevention programs that HAVE proven to be effective in reducing teen pregnancy. THAT is what these parents teach their kids, how to be safe should they ever give in to their urges.
Short version… Teens raised on abstinence only education end up being more likely to become pregnant than teens raised on other teen prevention programs… both end up just as likely to engage in sex, but only the later is prepared to do it safely

He gets rid of this program and promotes abortions all over the world, Washington DC and allows public dollars to go to Legal Services Corporation who goes to court to promote abortions. I thought he wanted to “lower the abortion rate”? What a liberal liar with a big time agenda for this country. Thank you all who voted for this disaster!

I agree with Tiffany (first comment).

Maybe some of you should research a little deeper. Obama believes that abstinence-only should be taught right along side of comprehensive sex education to ensure that teens know the safest method is practicing abstinence but if they choose to have sex they are given the information they need to do it as safe as possible. If educators are given the gag order on what they can teach and what they cannot, we are basically telling our teens just not to have sex and not really giving educated information on what happens if they choose to do it anyway!

i think that if a student choose to have sex then we should be there to give her pertection so she doesnt end up pregnant and droping out or get an abortion of spread std’s…. if theres no child then theres no abortion…. so stop complaining bout every damn thing an get off your ass an do sumthin bout it if you dont like it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BUT i also think that abstanence should be taught along side safe sex for the teens…

The tea party and Sarah Palin are popular, because Americans are tired of out of touch, elitist, empty suit leaders, like Obama wasting trillions of hard earned tax dollars, and turning America into a third world country. Those of us who love this country, want our government to be of the people, by the people and for the people. That’s what the tea party and Palin are … ‘the people’ … no matter how many snide condescending sarcastic insults come from the elitist progressive left.