A new study from the Centers for Disease Control shows that middle and high schools in the United States are doing an almost universally terrible job teaching sex ed. Schools are especially struggling with teaching students how to get and use condoms; teenagers are less likely to use one today than they were a decade…
On This Week Tonight, John Oliver lavished a full 21 minutes on American sex ed, with a special emphasis on abstinence-only curriculums. The segment comes complete with clips from dreadful videos with titles like “No Screwin’ Around” and programs comparing girls who’ve had sex to used tape, chewed-up gum, and stinky…
A Cleveland after-school program teaches teens to talk to other teens about emotionally and physically safe sex instead of pretending premarital boning never happens. Imagine that!
Katelyn Campbell, the high school student who notified the media about Pam Stenzel's insane abstinence-only presentation last week, is apparently being threatened by her principal. She says that George Aulenbacher, the principal at George Washington High School in West Virginia, said he'd call Wellesley College —…
Concerned that their precious children are not learning to be terrified enough about the deadly consequences of sexual intercourse, lawmakers in Tennessee have added language to their abstinence-only sex ed curriculum that warns students of the dangers of "gateway sexual activity" in a desperate effort to make sure…
For years conservative legislators have argued that abstinence-only sex education is the best policy, because if there's one thing we know about teenagers, it's that when you tell them not to do something they listen. However, today scientists have come out with information that may come as a shock (if you like to…
Probably bad news for Rick Perry and his state's abstinence-only approach to sex-ed: according to a study by the University of Texas' Health Sciences Center at Houston, about one in ten Texas sixth graders have had sex. If that seems like a lot of precocious preteens to you, imagine how frighteningly large the…
After years of sexual education that willfully denies the possibility that kids are going to have sex no matter what, some schools in Texas are starting to teach curriculums that information on contraception. This is partly because it isn't as cheap to yell, "Don't do it!" to teens as one might think, and there's less…
Did you know that 24 states don't require sex education?
Teens are apparently getting it on less often than they used to — and while abstinence-only education may be a factor, it's not the whole story.
The new Republican candidate for Senate in Delaware is known best for her positions on sex: She is a devout Catholic, chaste, anti-masturbation, pro-abstinence-only sex ed, anti-condoms and anti-porn. But Christine O'Donnell didn't grow up in a strict religious household.
Reversing Bush's oh-so-effective abstinence-only approach, healthcare reform allocates $375 million to teach teens comprehensive sex ed. One critic worries this will "normalize teen sexual activity," but — newsflash — it's already normal. [NYT]
Researchers report that STD rates in the U.S. are through the roof. "We have among the highest rates of STDs of any developed country in the world," said John Douglas from the CDC, who suggests abstinence-only is to blame. [Reuters]
A CDC study found that rates of teen pregnancy and STDs rose during the Bush years, reversing earlier decreases. Gee, maybe abstinence-only doesn't work? •
Last night Primetime showed teens being taught proper condom use at a comprehensive sex education class in Massachusetts. Meanwhile in Texas, kids receive actual "virgin cards." In the clip at left, Paige renews her pledge because at 14, she's pregnant.
Good Morning America previewed tonight's Primetime special on teen pregnancy. Eight out of 10 fathers eventually leave their expectant girlfriends, like Taylor, shown at in the clip at left dancing at the prom after refusing to take his pregnant partner.
In a disturbing Huffington Post piece, UCLA student Myra Duran visits a crisis pregnancy center to find out how "empowering" it really is.
The steady drop in teen pregnancy stalled and may even have reversed between 2003 and 2007. The reason: teens are using less contraception, possibly because abstinence-only education sucks. [EurekAlert, NYT]
Governor Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol once told Fox News that abstinence is "unrealistic", but now that she's a Teen Ambassador for The Candie's Foundation, she says abstinence is "the only way" to prevent pregnancy.
The end of the Bush era may signal the end of the "abstinence-only" approach to sex education programs. Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York hopes to end the failing programs with the "Prevention First Act."
