living life.

stfuconservatives:

timekiller-s:

maymay:

A reminder from your friendly neighborhood comprehensive sex education advocates:

Why We Need Sex Ed Now!

Pregnancy:

• Among developed nations, the US ranks 1st in teen pregnancy and STDs.
• Every 2 minutes, 2 U.S. teens get pregnant. Of these, more than 80% are unintended.
• 50% of pregnant teens graduate high school vs. 90% of their peers.

STDs:

• 1 in 4 sexually active teens will contract an S.T.D. this year.
• Though young people only account for ¼ of our sexually active population, they contract ½ of that population’s S.T.D.’s.
• Chlamydia among U.S. teens has nearly doubled since 2000.

Abstinence-only education is failing:

• Abstinence only states have the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the nation, but comprehensive sex-ed states have the lowest rates, yet abstinence still reigns supreme in American schools.
• In 2010, Texas rejected $4.4 million of federal funding for comprehensive sex ed programs.
• More than 96% of Texas school districts teach abstinence only.
• Gov. Rick Perry: “Abstinence works…it is the best form to teach our children.”
• Texas has the highest teen birth-rate in the nation. Out of every 1,000 teen girls, 62 give birth to a child.

Abstinence doesn’t work. Comprehensive sex-ed does.

• Teens who receive comprehensive sex-ed are 50% less likely to get pregnant than teens who receive abstinence-only.
• Teen pregnancy dropped 40% between 1990 and 2005. 80% of this drop was due to increased contraceptive usage. Just 14% was due to decreased sexual activity.

Parents believe in sex-ed, too:

• 91% of parents of high schoolers believe sex-ed in school is important.
• 93% think birth control is an appropriate topic for sex-ed to cover.

Sources:

• http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0024658
• http://www.cdc.gov/std/stats09/adol.htm
• http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/FB-Teen-Sex-Ed.html
• http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3324401.html
• http://www.futureofsexed.org/documents/josh-fose-standards-web.pdf
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/23/rick-perry-struggles-to-a_n_934172.html

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License: CC-BY-NC-ND.

(via Why We Need Reproductive Education | Public Health Degree)

THIS NEEDS TO BE PRINTED OUT AND MAILED TO EVERY SINGLE CONSERVATIVE AND/OR REPUBLICAN LEGISLATOR IN THIS NATION. AND MOST CERTAINLY EVERY MEMBER OF THE STATE LEGISLATORS IN OKLAHOMA, VIRGINIA AND FLORIDA. SNOW THEM UNDER WITH THIS.

[sorry for yelling … ]

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(via foxyslick)