American Sex Education

Among the many right things Bush has done...

Ok, I was going to go with a double entendre on the word "right", but there was really no point. Part of the social conservative agenda is that sex education should promote abstinence as the only reasonable method of birth control and/or avoiding STD's.

For example, from the MN ENABL site (Minnesota Education Now and Babies Later) they have a reasonable question.

How do you avoid pregnancy and STIs?

A good question, with many answers. The best of course is the use of condoms, but birth control pills are fairly effective in terms of avoiding pregnancy. There is room for discussion on the drawbacks of the vaunted "withdrawal" method and other such techniques (eg. Vatican-friendly rhythm).

But no, the answer given is:

A: The only 100% way to avoid pregnancy and STIs is to not engage in sexual activity. While abstinence costs nothing, it does require you to plan carefully, to set limits, and to clearly say no to sexual pressures.

That's just great, a very informative answer that is probably news to those who are oblivious to the obvious. I think though that the MN ENABL people realize that their answer is kinda screwy, since they finish off with a bit of a whimper:

For more information about how to avoid pregnancy and STIs (sexually transmitted infections), you may wish to talk to you parents, a school nurse or counselor, or another trusted adult.

In other words, don't ask us, since we are not allowed to tell you any useful information.