Tennessee gets it wrong...Again

A few weeks ago, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam showed that despite a good education, unquestioned intelligence and coming from a wealthy family (his family founded the Pilot truck stop chain), he's as misguided as the rest of his party when it comes giving Tennessee's students a realistic view of sex education.
   Haslam signed into law perhaps the most benighted piece of legislation in Tennessee's history. The law is so vaguely worded that such innocent teenage behaviors as holding hands and kissing could be defined as "gateway sexual behavior." Teachers who discuss such deviant behavior -- or even guest speakers from organizations such as Planned Parenthood who dare mention the IDEA of birth control -- could be arrested and fined as much as $500. The end result of this awful piece of legislation is that the only idea that can now legally be discussed in the state's sex education classes is "abstinence only," the one approach to sex ed that has been proven NOT to work.
   Tennessee lawmakers -- and parents -- are fooling themselves if they think that simply telling students not to have sex is going to have any discernible impact on the state's teen pregnancy rate. Think about it. What's the first thing any child asks when told NOT to do something? Right. "Don't do what?" Followed quickly by "Where is it?" Every parent knows that to be true. It's been proven by years of studies, which have conclusively proven that the highest teen pregnancy rates are in states that emphasize "abstinence-only" sex education over a more realistic, common-sense approach.
   Let's be honest with ourselves. Teenagers are curious about sex. That curiosity is a normal part of growing up. And simply telling them not to have sex isn't going to stop them from experimenting. If anything, it will encourage them to experiment more. Without the proper education, they are less likely to use protection, and more likely to create an accidental pregnancy. That's a fact.
 Giving students information about birth control -- including how to use each method properly and their rates of effectiveness -- doesn't mean they will run out immediately and have sex. If anything,giving students the right information about things like birth control, sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, and the psychological impact of sex -- that it irrevocably bonds you to your partner, whether or not a pregnancy or disease results -- will cause them to think twice before taking that step with someone.
   No approach to sex education is perfect. Some teens will continue to have sex, no matter what we tell them. It's a dangerous world out there, far different than the one faced by our parents and grandparents. Continuing to bury our heads in the sand by pretending that "abstinence only" works; continuing to deny our kids valuable, life-saving information in the face of very real danger; is dangerous. It's irresponsible. Our kids deserve better.