I've written time and time again about the wastefulness of government-funded ignorance, when comprehensive sex-ed has proven to be the best way to improve health outcomes.
Well, Catherine Morrison has a very important post at RH Reality Check today about where Kentucky stands in the midst of this, and it's not a pretty picture:
The teen birth rate is nearly 20 percent higher than the national average (49.2 per 1,000 young women ages 15-19 compared to 41.1 in the same age group). Most states have experienced declines in teen birth rates, but in a single year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports Kentucky's rate rose nearly 7 percent. The nationwide teen birth rate increased by less than half that in the same year.
The trend follows in HIV statistics. The overall prevalence is low, but the disease impacts one community disproportionately: African Americans make up only seven percent of the total population of Kentucky but nearly 34 percent of new HIV cases in the state, according to the CDC.
These numbers are alarming, as is the curriculum being taught:
In looking at the curricula used by these health departments, CPCs, and other community-based organizations, five central, and disturbing, themes emerged: advancing religious messages; relying on messages of fear and shame; fostering gender myths and stereotypes; promoting the questionable practice of virginity pledges; and providing misinformation.
I urge you to read Morrison's full article and to contact Gov. Beshear about joining the number of states that have rejected abstinence-only funding.
(x-posted: Ditch Mitch)
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