How to Talk to a Republican #6: Sex Ed Redux

Interesting how many Conservative ideas have proven themselves just plain wrong when exposed to reality. Abstinence-only education, for example, has now proven itself to be about as effective as an aspirin between the knees at keeping unwanted pregnancies from happening. Here's a link to an article in The Guardian describing a study that proves if you want your baby girl pregnant, you vastly increase your chances of success by teaching her only to abstain:

"At present there does not exist any strong evidence that any abstinence program delays the initiation of sex, hastens the return to abstinence or reduces the number of sexual partners'' among teenagers, the study concluded.

Important: No abstinence-only program had any effect on how often, when or with how many. The study did not mention the rate of pregnancy among abstinence-only teens as opposed to those who got a comprehensive sex education; however,

(comprehensive sex education programs) improved teens' knowledge about the risks and consequences of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and gave them greater "confidence in their ability to say 'no' to unwanted sex.''

Turns out the way to stop teen pregnancies - about 40 per 1000 teen girls - is comprehensive sex education. It does all the things abstinence-only programs purport to do, but measurably. Unlike a silver ring, a promise and technical virginity, comprehensive sex education works. If the Republican is really concerned about the welfare of teenage girls and not just in promoting another failed ideology, they'll have to admit that abstinence-only sex education does not survive contact with reality and, if the issue is the health and well-being of young people, comprehensive sex ed is the way to go.