There's A Reason For Texas' High Teen Pregnancy Rate

Texas ranks third in the nation for having a high teen pregnancy rate (73 out of every 1000), behind New Mexico (80) and Mississippi (76). And it leads the nation in the rate of second teen pregnancies. Obviously, the state leaders are doing something wrong.

The charts above are from a new report from the Texas Freedom Network. They give us a good idea of why the teen pregnancy rate is so high in Texas. Texas schools are failing to teach real sex education. About 83.4% of Texas schools teach abstinence only (58.3%) or nothing at all (25.1%).

This is because the Republicans have a stranglehold on state government, and they support abstinence only (or no sex education at all) in an effort to pander to the large number of fundamentalist christians in their base. These fundamentalists have the silly notion that if sex is not mentioned, then teens will not learn of it and have premarital sex.

The truth is far different. Teens are not stupid. They know sex exists, and just telling them not to engage in it is futile. What teens need is the knowledge that comes with real sex education -- knowledge that can prevent teen pregnancies and sexually-transmitted diseases. By not providing them with that knowledge, schools (and political leaders) are failing the youth of Texas.

As the bottom chart shows, things have improved slightly from eight years ago -- with the percentage getting abstinence only or nothing falling from 96.3% in 2007-08 to the current level of 83.4%. That is primarily because the Obama administration removed abstinence only requirements mandated by the Bush administration.

But with the national government now controlled completely by right-wing Republicans, and the same being true of Texas state government, I wouldn't expect anymore improvement in the teaching of real sex education. If anything, there will probably be a return to the failed policies of the past.

Teen Pregnancy

There are 365,000 births to teen mothers (age 15 to 19) each year in this country -- and nearly 67,000 of them are second, third, or fourth births to the same teen mother. That tells me we are doing something wrong -- we are failing the children of this country. Note on the second chart that the states with the worst teen birth rates are generally states where fundamentalist Republicans rule. They think the answer is just to tell children not to have sex, and then refuse to teach them any sex education. They are wrong, and it is the children who suffer because of it.

Religion or teaching abstinence does not prevent teen pregnancies. Studies have shown that. What does prevent teen pregnancies is good sex education and easy access to contraceptives. Fundamentalists believe that teaching the truth about sex will make children have sex. That's silly. The children who want to have sex will do so whether they know the truth or have access to contraceptives or not, and the ones who don't want to will not be bolstered by preaching at them.

I don't think teens having sex is a very good idea, but I don't think it's a sin either. And I would rather my child be taught the truth and have access to contraceptives, than to make life a lot harder by having a teen pregnancy. But then I think my children are more important than any religion. And I think we could go a long way toward solving the problem of teen pregnancy in this country if all parents thought that way. If a loving god did exist, wouldn't he/she agree?

Texas Is Number One (Sadly)

Once again, Texas finds itself in the position of leading all other states -- but this number one ranking is not one that should make any Texan proud of the state. For the sixth year in a row, Texas leads the nation in the number of repeat teen pregnancies.

While Texas has gone from first to third in the number of teen pregnancies (still nothing to take pride in), it continues to lead the nation in repeat teen pregnancies. The statewide figure for repeat teen pregnancies is 23%. The figures were compiled and released by Child Trends, a Washington D.C.-based group.

The group also breaks the figures down by the 73 largest cities, and it shows the worst percentages are in the major urban areas. Here are the figures for Texas cities included in the report:

Dallas.......28% (leads the nation)

San Antonio.......26%

Fort Worth.......25%

Houston.......24%

Austin.......24%

El Paso.......21%

Arlington.......19%

Texas also leads the nation in another statistic -- the number of teen pregnancies for girls under the age of 15. Houston leads the nation in this statistic.

Why is Texas doing so badly in the area of teen pregnancies? Of course, part of the blame must rest with parents (or lack of parents), but I doubt that Texas is any different than any other state as far as parental involvement and responsibility is concerned.

But schools are another matter. Texas schools are doing something different. About 94% of all Texas schools are teaching their students absolutely NOTHING BUT ABSTINENCE! This is a shameful avoidance of their duty to educate their students about sex and contraceptives.

The religious fundamentalists control the state school board and most local school boards, and they are convinced that Texas students are stupid. They believe if you teach the truth about sex and contraceptives, then those students will all run out and have sex.

The truth is that these fundies have it backwards. The states that teach good sex education with instructions on the use of contraceptives, have much lower teen pregnancy rates that states that teach abstinence-only. Regardless of what they are taught (or not taught), teens will have sex when they are ready to do so. Those who have received real sex education will at least have the knowledge of how to protect themselves and prevent pregnancy.

As Robert Sanborn, president and CEO of Children at Risk, says, "The state of Texas needs to understand that what it's doing is not working." We should take religion out of Texas schools and let those schools educate their students about the real world (where they're going to have to live).