The Angry Liberal Commentary Archive:
Teen Pregnancy: A Republican's Best Friend
As it turns out, Republicans like teen pregnancy and abortions. They talk about disliking them, but actually abortions and teen pregnancy have a lot to do with keeping these guys in power. While they bemoan the "moral breakdown of our society," they have actually put in place a system that ensures two indicators of that "moral breakdown" remain high.
The Alan Guttmacher Institute just published a study of teen sexuality in five countries: the United States, France, Great Britain, Canada and Sweden. So how did the richest, most God-fearing nation fare against these other liberal bastions of sin and socialism? Let's have a look:
1. "Levels of sexual activity and the age at which teenagers become sexually active do not vary considerably (between the countries studied). . ."
That's right. Since the rise of creeps like Jerry Falwell, America has been turning sex education classes into abstinence courses. Don't have sex, kids. Don't wonder about it. Don't ask about it. Don't even know what it is. The study shows that American kids, who are told not to, manage to figure out on their own what kids in the other countries are taught. The lesson here is clear: Kids who are taught about sex and family planning are not more sexually active than kids who are. So where is the harm in attempting to teach kids to "just say no," you ask? Take a look at this:
2. "Young Canadian, French, British and Swedish women are more likely to practice contraception and to use hormonal contraceptive methods. . ."
This follows logically from the last point. If we refuse to teach our kids about birth control and provide easy access to it, fewer will know about it and use it. Here's the part Republicans like: If our kids are having sex at levels similar to those in the dirty socialist nations studied and our kids are less likely to use birth control, then we are led inevitably to the study's next point:
3. "The U.S. teen birthrate of 49 per 1,000 women aged 15-19, down about 20% from 1990, remains about twice as high as rates in Great Britain and Canada and five times as high as Sweden and France."
Gee, who would have guessed this? Teens in the United States who are unsuccessfully taught to avoid sex and are denied knowledge of and access to birth control are getting knocked up, and at staggeringly higher rates than those living in the Godless, Communist bastard nations in Europe. Also note the 20% drop in teen birthrate in the U.S. during the Clinton years. Yes, THE CLINTON YEARS! During the era when the right-wing folks were furiously wringing their hands over the "moral breakdown" of our society, the teen birthrate was actually dropping. So you think that maybe the other countries in this study have a lower birth rate because they have easier access to abortions? Wrong! The abortion rate is lower in all of the other countries in the study. Fewer pregnancies mean fewer abortions.
So what can we make of this study? It's simple: The conservative Christian doctrine of teaching abstinence and denying access to family planning has not affected our kids' sexual activity and has actually contributed to higher teen pregnancy and more abortions.
The answer to America's problem is simple: If we want fewer teen pregnancies and fewer abortions, we had better duct tape Jerry Falwell's mouth shut and take a little trip to Sweden. Perhaps they would be kind enough to loan us some sex education materials. On the other hand, if we keep repeating the same mistakes with our teenagers, these social problems will remain and Republicans will have an issue to scare the voters with. " Vote for me, and I'll stop our teens from having sex." This is the bitter irony. Republican policy, which is supposed to solve teen sexuality problems by eliminating teen sexuality, also keeps Republicans in power by perpetuating those problems. In a silly and vain attempt to steer out children away from sin, the conservative Christians are instead creating more teen pregnancies and more abortions. We must begin to accept that our teenagers are having sex (which they are) and insist that they do so as safely as possible (which they are not). In short, it is time for the grown-ups to take on the problem of teenage pregnancy using scientific data and proven methods. If conservative Christians wish to contribute to the effort, they may pray quietly. Just stay the hell out of our way. We have work to do.
Jerry Falwell, please report to the principal's office. We are expelling you from our nation's schools. Your disruptive behavior in our classrooms will no longer be tolerated.
. . .The Angry Liberal
12/01/01
