It's all very well to say that children should learn about sex from their parents, but the truth is that many parents simply refuse to teach their children about sex and safe sex and reproductive health. Many parents feel, quite erroneously, that talking about sex leads to it happening - actually, the more young people know about sex, the longer they delay having it overall. Also, many parents are plain ignorant about the details themselves, as should be obvious when you take a look at how many unintended pregnancies occur in Texas each year (309,000). My own daughter attends a very academically rigorous high school program filled with some of the smartest, most educated teens around and is Completely Horrified at how totally ignorant they are about sex, reproductive health and how to protect themselves. Pregnancy scares abound and the parents don't even know. It is a crisis.
The Texas Republicans want to continue suppressing sex education in our schools. Here is what the 2012 Texas Republican Party Platform has to say on the matter:
"Sex Education – We recognize parental responsibility and authority regarding sex education. We believe that parents must be given an opportunity to review the material prior to giving their consent. We oppose any sex education other than abstinence until marriage. "
Parental authority is all very well, but it is crucial that comprehensive sex education happen in our schools so that all (or at least most) children have the information they need to be safe, whether their parents care enough or are educated enough to give them that information or not.
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