Facebook
The Texas newspapers (I originally read the story in the Houston Chronicle, but the San Antonio Express-News had better coverage) are all carrying the same story: Texas has dropped from being #1 in the nation for its teenage pregnancy rate. All the way to #3. And after a "decade of steady decline," the rate rose in 2006. Alas, there is still too much claptrap being preached in Texas about abstention being the only answer. The article is worth a read for its information, but also contains sadly humorous comments of some of the "experts." Dr. Janet Realini, head of Healthy Futures, says, "This is not good news for Texas....My guess is that it's a combination of higher percentage of teens having sex and fewer of those are using contraception.” Realini must have gotten her doctorate in The Blindingly Obvious. As for her organization, Healthy Futures, it appears to be oriented toward offering support to those who choose abstention. Well, we know how that has worked out.
But young people are working to change all that through the Texas Sex Education Campaign Youth Council.
Also it's worth noting that many state birth rates and the national birth rate rose. Now is a great time to tell Congress to end abstinence-only funding.