Abstinence or Abortion?
CER #4: Abstinence or Abortion? Senate Bill 521, filed by Ken Paxton of McKinney, would prohibit school districts from using sex education materials supplied by any organization affiliated or linked to abortion providers. Teen birth rates have been declining over the past 20 years nationally but Texas still has an alarming 52 to 1000 ratio. The CDC has publically announced they are not completely sure of what the cause is for the decline. The question everyone is asking is why would you change an improving situation? The Bill was clearly passed to target Planned Parenthood. They currently supply only a few school districts with instructional materials which are required by state law to promote abstinence. The materials also contain information about contraceptives. With a law passed in 2009, any parent who wishes to review the materials used or remove their student from any class they find objectionable, may do so. This in many eyes gives fair flexibility to the students, parents, and school districts. So why do we still have a problem with the current situation, which again, is clearly made an impact on more teens. The newly proposed bill is under fire about its replacement requirement. It will replace the Opt-out option with a parental consent form that will have to be filled out 14 days before the class begins. This is creating more paper work for the district and underfunded staff. But most importantly, this will guarantee less students to take any type of Sex-Ed class. As a student who has gone through the Texas education system since the 6th grade, I found a Sex-Ed class to be nothing but informing. Studies have shown that students who have gone through a abstinence class that includes accurate information over contraception, relationships, STD’s and societal pressures have delayed having sex. This is one piece of evidence in my mind that shows how important a class of this topic really can be. In addition, one of the most overlooked factors over a
Cited: Editorial Board. “Bill a step backward for sex education.” Statesman.com. Austin American Statesman, 21 March 2013. Web. 22 March 2013