By Alan Smithee
A new poll released by the Texas Freedom Network finds that 80 percent of the 972 possible voters surveyed want high schools to teach contraception, including birth control and condoms, along with abstinence. According to the poll, support is fairly well spread all across the spectrum.
TFN states that “77 percent of Protestants, 82 percent of Roman Catholics and 70 percent of people who identified themselves as “born again” Christians” support teaching about contraception. Additionally 97 percent of liberals, 93 percent of moderates and 63 percent of conservatives want their children to learn how not to get pregnant. The lowest support among racial groups comes from whites, who still supported the idea by 78 percent.
The sentiments recognize that the majority of Texans know we have one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country. In fact it’s so high that retailers are now targeting pregnant teens specifically. Teen fashion store Forever 21 has recently launched a maternity line. The line will only available in five states–three of which, including Texas, have some of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country.
Texas’ teen pregnancy rate is so bad that, according to the Texas Department of State health services, “every 10 minutes a teen gives birth.” Needless to say, the problems with Texas sex education are nothing new and are well known throughout the country. Our problems are so notorious that the “Godless liberals”at the bastion of underage sex that is PBS produced a documentary about a 15-year-old girl’s attempt to bring comprehensive sex ed to Lubbock.
Here’s where I would quote a story that I’ve heard from a couple of different sources here in Houston. This urban legend tells about two teenage couples who want to have sex in a car but only have one condom in between them. So after the first couple is done the second allegedly turns the condom inside out, and one of the girls gets pregnant. The only problem is the baby is from the guy she didn’t sleep with. So she sues for child support. The problem is that the story didn’t originate in Texas.
The problem with trying to bring comprehensive sex ed to Texas schools is that, even though the majority of Texans support the measure, conservatives seem to think that teaching kids to use condoms doesn’t have “common sense values.” The Liberty Institute, which describes itself as “an alliance of top state and national policy leaders” said in a statement to the media that the results of the TFN survey are “no surprise and are routinely rejected by our elected officials and common sense values of Texas.”
