Hello Barack Obama, Goodbye Abstinence?

Ditto!!! It is becoming a very sad world when we can justify planned parenthood and think it is a benefit!

And twice in your first paragraph here. It's just plain vicious to attack an 18-year-old who has absolutely nothing to do with you.

As for your other comment - you speak of research that abstinence only education "doesn't have any effect." First of all, that is untrue - even the "anti" research shows that it has positive effects which you choose to ignore. Secondly, you imply in your writing that it actually increases teen pregnancy, which is not true and you know it. It's dishonest.

Then, since we're on the topic of your offensive writing style, I'm also sick of you poking fun at the Christian religion as you also do in your first paragraph.

I'm with you on the sutle put down of Bristol by Uncle but I think he did it to make a point. Hello, would you consider a pregnant unmarried teen of our president to be a good example to our young teens. While the rest of the US is trying to keep unwanted pregnancy at bey she would have been in the spot light, with teens saying, "Well, Bristol did it." The world would have had a good laugh. How could we teach abstinance, while a potential presidential candidate could not? Abstinence does not cause unwanted pregnancy, but having sex does, and talking till your blue in the face doesn't work either, best to have a back up plan, like being realistic, and planning so when the time comes and it will, the intendees are ready...oh, that sounds alot like planned parenting. hmmm.

Shom, applying your reasoning, I could say that now teens will be thinking, what's wrong with me getting pregnant out of wedlock - my kid could grow up to be President!

Or, was Barack the result of an "immaculate conception"? Hey, I may be onto something here . . . .

Fact is, neither Bristol nor Palin was elected and neither is relevant at this point to the discussion about sex education. But if for argument's sake they were relevant, Roger does not know whether or not Bristol's parents made sure she knew about contraception. I would bet that at 17 she knew plenty about it and had as much access to it as most teens. Roger just has a mean streak, he loves to write nasty, misleading, and dishonest stuff, and he is frankly making a fool of himself. Bristol should be allowed to return to a normal life like any other American in her situation. Like the PD writer Sandy Maple and her daughter. Why isn't someone smacking Sandy around for whatever choices she made that failed to prevent her daughter's pregnancy? And why is Roger using this forum to revive a dead discussion about a past, unsuccessful candidate? It's just irresponsible, incompetent writing.

What point would Obama's mother prove? Bristol Palin seems a perfect rebuttal to the grandstanding Family Values soapbox used by her mother's campaign.

Palins soapbox of Abstinence Only is proved false in her own household and across the Country in statistics and data.

The opposing view of Abstinence AND education is well documented and proven positive in Countries such as Germany, France & the Netherlands.

What seems to be obvious is that this Country is made up of a wide array of morals and beliefs.

The Family value's stand seems to be "Do as I say, Not as I do"...i.e. Palin's daughter, McCains admitted affairs during his first marriage, including Cindy McCain.

The other side seems to believe "Family values are learned by family, education and reasonable access to disease preventing and pregnancy preventing contraceptives is a health issue".

Morals & values is a religious belief, which is seperate from what our Government oversee's. Pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases effect all of the citizens. Of course the Government should be involved from a health standpoint.

Why do you insist on your values & beliefs being imposed on everyone?

"If you want to teach your child about birth control - so be it, but don't use MY tax dollars to do it. Do it on your own time and on your own dime. "

Yeah, we'll just keep using your (and mine) tax dollars for welfare to support the unwed teen parents who need to be protected and shielded from that bad bad topic....sex.

Why is education such a scary topic when it comes to sex?

Let me just give you some more anecdotal evidence that you are going to blow off because it doesn't support your theories. My sister-in-law spouted all the same stuff you do. She took her daughters to Planned Parenthood for the speech and the access to birth control and all that when they were young teens. She bragged that she knew her kids were going to be smart and protect themselves. She was quite proud of doing the logical, practical, modern thing. Well, both of those daughters got pregnant before marriage, one as a teen. In fact, 5 of her 6 grandkids was conceived out of wedlock. Isn't she a model for modern parenting!

You talk like doing all this "logical" stuff is going to end teen pregnancy. No, it's not. While it may prevent some pregnancies, it's going to cause others, by making teens a lot more cavalier about their actions. Otherwise, how do you explain the teen pregnancy rate (a) before "abstinence-only" came about and (b) in areas where they have had "comprehensive sex ed" (as you call it) in public schools for decades?

I keep having to remind people that I do NOT personally believe in abstinence-only sex education in schools. But I don't believe in the schools telling my kids "how to do it" or talking like "everyone does it" either. I know what to tell my kids. I know what worked for me and my sisters. I know what didn't work for some others. And, I don't trust the public schools to handle any discussion with my kids about sexual choices.

What offends me about this article (other than the attacks on Bristol and on Christianity) is that Roger inaccurately implies that "comprehensive" sex ed in public schools reduces teen pregnancy better than abstinence-only sex ed. It does not. Neither one "works" better than the other overall. That is what the studies prove here in the US.

And I believe it was EH who mentioned that other countries do it better because they combine education with respect, etc. Well, maybe that is true, though I am skeptical of anything EH posts given his extreme bias. But here in the US, our public schools don't have a great track record for teaching kids to respect themselves. Maybe you think that will change now that B.O. is president, and you have a right to your opinion. But I consider it my personal responsibility to teach my kids how to respect themselves enough to make choices that are both physically and emotionally healthy for them.

SKL - FYI:

EH - female, 41, mother to 6yr old daughter, and 2 teenage step - daughters:)

I do not have the need to take any of my daughters to Planned parenthood since communication and education on the subject is open and age appropriate. I am, however, grateful the option was there for me in my youth and for other young woman who come from misguided religious sexual suppression,( hello, it's JUST nature)...or other situations that did not provide adequate education.

Extreme Bias - hardly....VERY moderate. As I've stated abstinence AND sex ed hand in hand as positive proof by the stats I posted on Germany, France & the Netherlands...any other opinions come from actual experience, travel and open mindedness and open eyes to the world in which I share with MANY faiths, athiests and cultures....talk of bias one sided....One-sided bias seems to be familiar to you as seeing anothers point of view is seldom an option. Judgement and harsh opinions are, though.

Keeping using your scare tactics that those "evil liberals" want to teach sex ed and how to be a homosexual to our pre-schoolers...Now THAT is bias and ignorant:)

I'd love to see a study that provides an honest picture of the following:

1) What percentage of out-of-wedlock pregnancies happened to kids who were unaware of contraceptives?

2) What percentage of out-of-wedlock pregnancies happened to kids who had not been having sex while using contraceptives on an ongoing (if not perfectly consistent) basis?

In my experience, every person I know who has gotten pregnant outside of wedlock - from young teens upward - knew plenty about birth control; and the majority were having "protected sex" on a regular basis before the pregnancy occurred.

If my experience is typical, then the argument that teen pregnancies are caused by abstinence education is clearly idiotic. In this day and age, I just don't believe there are teens having sex who don't know how to reduce the risk of pregnancy - regardless of the sex ed program they are exposed to at school. They are choosing to be careless, and when that happens, they get pregnant even though they may carry condoms in their purse. Some of them are even getting pregnant on purpose. It's the blase attitude toward casual sex that is behind the majority of teen pregnancies in this generation.

Some talk about the "wasted" cost of abstinence education. So are you telling me the alternative, which is no more effective at reducing teen pregnancies, is without cost? I would bet it's a lot more expensive, what with all the condom demonstrations and handouts and field trips to the "health clinics" and such.

I sure don't want my daughters to get pregnant before they are ready, but I sure ain't going to leave it to the government to manage that risk; and I don't see why anyone else should, either.

But I'm glad that you're so sure Obama's got a plan to wipe out teen pregnancy. I'm sure within a few years, we won't even have a need for that term. I'll just sit back and wait for that to happen.

You need both Abstinence AND Sexual Education....it's pretty simple....the following stats support this more then the ridiculous:

"In my experience, every person I know who has gotten pregnant outside of wedlock - from young teens upward - knew plenty about birth control; and the majority were having "protected sex" on a regular basis before the pregnancy occurred."


The Facts

Adolescent Sexual Health in Europe and the U.S.—Why the Difference?

France, Germany, and the Netherlands - adolescent sexual health outcomes are more positive in these European countries than in the United States.

Their philosophy:
Rights. Respect. Responsibility. Each of the three nations has an unwritten social contract with youth: “We’ll respect your right to act responsibly and give you the tools you need to avoid unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.”

In France, Germany, and the Netherlands, two things create greater, easier access to sexual health information and services for all people, including teens. They are: 1) societal openness and comfort in dealing with sexuality, including teen sexuality; and 2) pragmatic governmental policies. The result – better sexual health outcomes for French, German, and Dutch teens when compared to U.S. teens.

ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY, BIRTH, AND ABORTION RATES IN EUROPE OUTSHINE THOSE IN THE UNITED STATES.*

Pregnancy

The United States’ teen pregnancy rate is over five times that of the Netherlands, over four times that of Germany, and over three times that of France.


Birth

U.S. teens account for about 71 percent of all teenage births occurring in all developed countries.4 The United States’ teen birth rate is nearly nine times higher the Netherlands’, four and a half times higher than France’s, and over four times higher than Germany’s.


Abortion

In the United States, the teen abortion rate is more than twice that of Germany and nearly twice that of the Netherlands.


HIV

The percentage of the United States’ adolescent and adult population that has been diagnosed with HIV or AIDS is six times greater than in Germany, three times greater than in the Netherlands, and one and a half times greater than in France.