Letter to Editor
As someone who has watched teenage friends make poor family planning choices due to misinformation, I applaud The Dallas News for the recent editorial "Sex Education Without Guesswork." Sex education is important for two main reasons: to help teenagers protect themselves against sexually transmitted diseases and to help prevent teen pregnancy. Abstinence is a great choice for some, and whenever possible abstinence is an ideal way to prevent both unwanted pregnancy and STD. However, teaching abstinence does not preclude educators from also teaching about safe sex and contraception. In fact, educators have an obligation to their students to teach the facts about their own bodies. Education is worthless if facts are doled out selectively, or not at all.
Adolescents are deemed mature enough to learn about Shakespeare and World War Two. If teenagers can tackle the enormous challenges they face on a daily basis in school and out, then their young and curious minds can well endure the discomfort of a sex education class. Parents who disapprove of sex education should tell their children why they feel the way they do in an open and mature conversation at home. Personal opinions need to be distinguished from facts. How can we expect our children to learn how to think critically if we do not teach them about sex?
Cheers to The Dallas News for pointing out the woeful inconsistencies and shortcomings in Texan state education. The majority of Texas school districts "either teach an abstinence-only health curriculum or avoid talking about sex altogether" and the result? Texas has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the nation. When evidence proves that our methods are not working, it is time to change them. Some teens are blessed with parents who make up for their state's lack of sex education programs. Unfortunately, many Texan teens remain ignorant at the behest of irresponsible parents. If withholding medical treatment for minors is against the law, then so too should withholding access to information about safe sex.
Finally, I would like to add that young people have a right to information: to all the information that they need to make informed decisions. Depriving teens of knowledge, information, and tools to make healthy choices does all of us a great disservice and sends the wrong message about the Lone Star State.
