The Illusion of Control and the Hidden Costs Thereof

Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Tuesday, March 3, 2009; Northeast section, page 6B (The title of this post links to the full article):

"Bill would move sex ed away from abstinence-only" - Kelley Shannon (AP)
Austin - Texas's sex education curriculum, which now teaches abstinence as the only form of birth control, would include more medical information about contraception and disease prevention under a bill proposed Monday by Democratic lawmakers.

"The status quo is not working," Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, said. "Only through honest information will teens have the tools they need for responsible decision making and disease prevention."

A bill proposed by Ellis and Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, would give teenagers access to "complete, medically accurate and age-appropriate" sexual health information at school with the aim of reducing teen pregnancy and infections, the legislators said.

The current abstinence-only sex education system has been in place since the mid-1990s when George W. Bush was governor. Republican Gov. Rick Perry will review the new proposal but "is comfortable with current law and supports abstinence programs," his spokeswoman, Allison Castle, said.

The conservative Texas Eagle Forum views the Democrats' proposal as trying to cover up immoral behavior by men and doing the bidding of abortion providers, Cathie Adams, president of the organization, said.

"I see this as a very anti-woman, anti-girl attempt," Adams said.

"It's putting immorality off on children."

Commentary

Was Mrs. Adams the best spokesperson for the opposing viewpoint? Does she really think that telling teenagers how diseases spread is promoting immorality? It's one thing to argue that sex-education condones sex or should be left to parents but the reality is I don't want my daughter to make life-altering decisions based on ignorance or naivety. Think of the stakes! Do I want to risk my daughters health on the assumption that she'll always obey her parents? Or do I educate her on how easy it is to get a incurable or even life-threatening disease? Limiting the discussion to "As long as you do as I say, everything will be fine" works only as long as your child doesn't contemplate disobedience. Even if they abstain until they get married, what about their partner? Whatever control you may have over your children's decisions about having sex, you have absolutely zero control over their potential partners.

Is the Star-Telegram just baiting us with Mrs. Adams? I'm having a hard time understanding how sex education is limited to being anti-girl? Why not anti-boy? Does she suggest that the way to protect girls is by keeping them ignorant? Does it mean that it's always the girl's fault? Do boys have no responsibility when it comes to sex? Is it so hard to remember just how easily hormones influence teenagers?

This whole discussion reminds me of the driver who refuses to yield to the large truck who just ran a stop sign. Yes you have the right of way, yes, the other driver should have stopped, yes the law is on your side, yes the other driver is at fault, yes, yes, yes, you are right; but you're also dead.

Do you want to be "Dead Right" with your childrens health?