Long one of the most conservative states in the nation, Oklahoma is one state that has steadfastly refused to implement comprehensive sex education that includes contraception. Instead, Republicans in the state have advocated for abstinence-only plans that have been proven not to work time and time again. And because of that epic failure, one school district is defying the GOP.
In a move that is certain to draw the ire of the Christian Right, the Tulsa Public School district is ditching abstinence-only programs and will begin teaching comprehensive sex education to 7th, 9th, and 11th grade. And why is Tulsa doing this, you ask? Because abstinence-only is a total failure that has resulted in the state having the fourth highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation, resulting in nearly half of all impregnated teens not graduating from high school. This, in turn, hurts Tulsa and the state because these young women don’t have the education they need to get good paying jobs which causes a higher need for welfare.
Tulsa Public Schools spokesman Steve Mayfield told Tulsa’s Channel 9 News that “forty-four percent of students who become pregnant or who are married at that age fail to graduate from high school, and that’s something that affects them for the rest of their life.”
Many of these teens end up being single mothers who lack the resources and education to get a well-paying job that helps them raise their child. About a quarter of young unmarried mothers end up in poverty, and poverty is itself a cause of teen pregnancy. It’s a vicious cycle that Republicans don’t seem to care about. But educators in Tulsa seek to end it by actually teaching sex education that really does work.
I know, can you believe it? Apparently simply telling teenagers to "just say no" is not enough to tamp down raging hormones, and prevent unwanted pregnancies.
Gee, who'da thunk it?
Besides how could a program fail with this person working as their spokesperson?
Such an inspiration.
Seriously it is about damn time that these idiots recognized that helping teens make safe choices when it comes to exploring their sexuality, will keep them safe and child free, without having to resort to shaming them or making them feel like they have offended God for acting on their very human impulses.
Good for Oklahoma for finally recognizing the obvious.
