...abstinence became part of the national dialogue with the news that Sarah Palin's teenage daughter, Bristol, is pregnant. Palin is a supporter of abstinence-only sex education, but that doesn't seem to be working, even under Palin's own roof.
...Whether it's Bristol Palin getting pregnant or college students getting drunk, authority figures need to recognize that just saying "don't do it" doesn't do any good. Plenty of people will choose to abstain, but it's naive to think they will do it just because their RA or their governor mother says to.
-The Huntington News, 9/15/08
Although I do think the Huntington News should correct this and apologize for it, I do not blame them for publishing it. Most people believe the propaganda about Palin.
In fact, Sarah Palin supports education about contraception with an emphasis on abstinence.
LA Times link
Her daughter Bristol once attended Wasilla High School but now attends Anchorage West High School. A summary of West High School's sexual education policy can be found at the link below. It stresses abstinence, but also includes information about condoms and other contraception, masturbation, homosexuality, breast and testicular self-exams, and STDs. That doesn't sound like abstinence-only sex education to me.
Anchorage West High School Sexuality Education guidelines
As far as the sex education at Wasilla High School, it isn't abstinence-only either. They don't have the curriculum posted online, though. Their policy stresses abstinence, but also covers contraception.
Boston Herald link
So, to sum it up, here is how Wasilla High School, Anchorage West High School, Matt Collette of the Huntingon News, and I think that sex education ought to be taught:
Now Johnny, I want to talk to you about sex... I think you know that the only way to completely avoid getting genital herpes or knocking up your girlfriend is to abstain from sex. But if you do decide to visit Boom City, use a condom.The most ironic thing, though, is not that the Huntington News made an error. I find it ironic that the very type of sex education that we are all recommending is actually the type that "doesn't seem to be working", not the abstinence-only type.
-Huntington News, 9/15/08
Of course, I don't believe that the sex education in Alaska "doesn't seem to be working" just because one girl got pregnant. She made a mistake. We don't condemn a mathematics curriculum just because a few students fail, so neither should we condemn a sex education curriculum just because a girl gets pregnant.
Of course, we could go on condemning parenting practices...but that is another story.
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