Good news across the political spectrum on teen pregnancy

[GwynnInTheHall]

I'm not sure it's fair to equate an unplanned pregnancy to drug use. My college recently had a symposium on drunk driving where the speaker had killed his girlfriend and then spent 5 years or so in prison---it was very powerful.

did they pay him and yes, unwanted pregnancies are as avoidable as drug use. Choose NOT to.

[nots]

did they pay him and yes, unwanted pregnancies are as avoidable as drug use. Choose NOT to.

It came from funding by the NCAA as it was for student-athletes, but yes they did pay him ( I want to say $1500.)
I think only one of those things is illegal.

[DMT]

Well, there's one thing I'm sure of: with one of the highest tuitions in the country and a massive endowment lil' ole not-for-profit Washington University can afford the 10K rounding error, lol.

The funds were coming from the student activity fees. And to your comment about early prevention, uh, college is a bit late to be promoting abstinence no?

[B-Fly]

I'm not sure it's fair to equate an unplanned pregnancy to drug use. My college recently had a symposium on drunk driving where the speaker had killed his girlfriend and then spent 5 years or so in prison---it was very powerful.

I agree that people with real life stories can speak powerfully against engaging in risky behavior. I just don't think that young Miss Palin is such a speaker, as it's wholly unclear whether her career and life prospects have been enhanced or retarded by her teen pregnancy and associated notoriety. Her tax returns would suggest the former. Again, I don't begrudge the girl making a living. I just have a hard time wrapping myself around the idea that she's in any way a good choice to speak to the perils of teen pregnancy.

[nots]

The funds were coming from the student activity fees. And to your comment about early prevention, uh, college is a bit late to be promoting abstinence no?

Yes, it is.
I'm not sure where the money came from is important. Surely Washington University has had other paid speakers that represent only one side of an issue. I would think college is the place for critical thinking and examining views that you may not of thought of before or are opposed to.

[nots]

I agree that people with real life stories can speak powerfully against engaging in risky behavior. I just don't think that young Miss Palin is such a speaker, as it's wholly unclear whether her career and life prospects have been enhanced or retarded by her teen pregnancy and associated notoriety. Her tax returns would suggest the former. Again, I don't begrudge the girl making a living. I just have a hard time wrapping myself around the idea that she's in any way a good choice to speak to the perils of teen pregnancy.

I guess I would have to hear what she had to say before I decided she wasn't a good speaker.

[GwynnInTheHall]

It came from funding by the NCAA as it was for student-athletes, but yes they did pay him ( I want to say $1500.)
I think only one of those things is illegal.

Seriously? I may be wrong, but I'd be wiling to wager if it weren't Palin's kid, you'd have an issue with it too. I'd think paying anyone more than travel, lodging and a token fee is exorbitant.

I'm all for people trying to educate others of the pitfalls of life through direct testimony, but I don't think those same people should be fiscally rewarded for their mistakes. Those people who stand up about killing someone while driving drunk don't usually get paid, in fact it's usually part of their sentence that they do these seminars.

I'm not one to reward bad behavior, even more so to applaud someone benefiting from those actions financially.

[B-Fly]

Abstinence, as well as contraception, should be promoted more often and at any earlier age. I'll never understand why both sides of the issue can't realize the other side has a very valid argument (though I guess based on the improved numbers Fly quotes, maybe there is more cross promoting than I think there is).

Missed this post. Here, I'll wholly agree with you. My problem isn't with teaching the value of abstinence, it's with teaching "abstinence only". In my opinion, every discussion about preventing teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases should start with a statement that the most time-tested and effective way to avoid the risk of pregnancy or STDs is abstinence.

[nots]

What do you base this opinion on? Because you surely aren't basing it on any sort of causal evidence, as study after study after study indicates that abstinence education does jack sh!t in keeping teens from having sex. Of course, that hasn't stopped Republicans (and probably some head-in-the-sand Dems, too) from pouring hundreds of millions into abstinence education programs. A staggering $204 million was spent on these ludicrous programs in 2008. Bush tripled the money spent on these programs during his reign.

http://ari.ucsf.edu/science/reports/abstinence.pdf

There are many, many other studies and they all point to the same facts. The only role abstinence should play in sex education is a very small one as an aside while covering things more grounded in reality.

The article you cite speaks of 'abstinence only cirricula'. I don't support the teaching of abstinence only. I thought I had made that clear.

[nots]

Seriously? I may be wrong, but I'd be wiling to wager if it weren't Palin's kid, you'd have an issue with it too. I'd think paying anyone more than travel, lodging and a token fee is exorbitant.

I'm all for people trying to educate others of the pitfalls of life through direct testimony, but I don't think those same people should be fiscally rewarded for their mistakes. Those people who stand up about killing someone while driving drunk don't usually get paid, in fact it's usually part of their sentence that they do these seminars.

I'm not one to reward bad behavior, even more so to applaud someone benefiting from those actions financially.

I didn't have a problem with him getting paid as it was pretty clear from his talk that he wasn't in this at all for the money. I do understand what you are saying, but it was a very powerful talk.

[B-Fly]

I guess I would have to hear what she had to say before I decided she wasn't a good speaker.

Here you go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0SDqS6cBXA

What did you think? Powerful?

[nots]

Here you go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0SDqS6cBXA

What did you think? Powerful?

No--the guy at my school was much better.
Having said that, it's hard to argue that she isn't a very prominent voice in the abstinence community. The number of similar youtube links on the side bear witness to that.

[nots]

It does not speak only of that. I think that article makes that clear.

Edit: My point is that there is no evidence to support massive funding of abstinence education outside of moral (religious) or political motivation. Nor is there any evidence to support what you've said, that there should be more abstinence promotion. If your main point was that kids could use more contraception training and, hell why not, throw in some abstinence stuff as well, I guess I could possibly support that.

Well, I didn't read all 32 pages of the article like I guess you did, but the title "Abstinence Only vs. Comprehensive Sex Education' seems rather definitive, no?

[B-Fly]

LOL. The irony of having a pregnant teen as a prominent voice in the abstinence community....

I think some of the Mtv reality shows showing the tougher side of teen pregnancy actually are pretty powerful and teen-eyeball-drawing arguments for abstinence and/or contraception. The Bristol Palin message, however, seems to be, "This could have really sucked if I wasn't Bristol Palin". I'm just not sure it's particularly effective.

[B-Fly]

No--the guy at my school was much better.

I hope so.