Abstinence-Plus Benefits

As part of its heroic fight against reality in the name of not making Jesus cry, the Bush administration spent nearly a decade promoting and freeing up federal dollars for abstinence-only “sex education” in public schools. The state of Texas spent more than any other on the programs, but they now have a higher teen pregnancy rate than ever, and STDs among teens are also on the rise. This is because abstinence-only programs don’t actually teach anything other than the fact that not squirting baby batter into a ripe vagina is the only 100% effective way to prevent the growth of tiny parasites in the human womb. They don’t, however, mention anything about condoms, pills, mutual masturbation, or any other techniques for enjoying sex with less risk of both pregnancy and infection. Which is why several Texas school districts are switching to an “abstinence-plus” curriculum. It still teaches that abstinence is the surest bet to avoid unwanted sexual side effects (well, other than blue balls), but it also says that if you do have sex, we have the technology to make it a safer experience. Still no mention of mutual masturbation, but I guess you can’t have everything. More details here.