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 Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning (R) all but declared war on his own party's Senate campaign chairman, Texas Senator John Cornyn (R) |
Photos: HuffingtonPost.com
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Top News Of The Day
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Texas Gov. Perry: No Stimulus, Stem Cell Research Or Comprehensive Sex Ed In Texas
Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) News Item One:Texas Gov. Perry (R), who has taken every opportunity in recent weeks to slam President Obama's economic stimulus and recovery program, did so again Wednesday in remarks to several hundred Texas home builders gathered outside the Texas Capitol.Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) News Item Two:
Gov. Perry’s opposition to the economic stimulus program isn’t shared by the Texas Association of Builders. According to a Dallas Morning News report, Scott Norman, the Association’s executive director, said he hopes Texas takes every dollar it can get. “From our industry, we need it to succeed,” Norman said. “We need the stock market to rebound. We need the credit markets to rebound. And we need people to get out there and drive our economy.”
Texas stands to get $17 billion from the just-passed federal stimulus package. It includes an $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, although Norman said, “We wanted more. We were pushing for anything, obviously.”
Perry's likely Republican primary opponent next year, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, voted against and also stands opposed to President Obama's economic stimulus and recovery program.
Gov. Rick Perry, who strongly supports teaching only "abstinence" sex education in Texas schools, greeted several hundred anti-choice activists rallying outside the Capitol. Gov. Perry promised the group that he would prevent embryonic stem cell research in Texas and touted his record for passing more restrictions on stem cell science and research than any previous Texas governor. [Apparently, Gov. Perry does not think Texas needs the high tech science dollars flowing into Texas to replace the crumbling telecom industry that is rapidly disappearing from Texas' "silicon prairie" corridor.]
Gov. Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst are strongly pushing 2009 Tx legislative session legislation mandating that doctors require women seeking information about an abortion must view their own fetal ultrasound image and listen to the fetal heartbeat monitor.
Jim Dunnam, Tx House Democratic caucus chairman has observed that if Gov. Perry and other anti-abortion leaders would support broader sex education, such as provided for in the “Education Works!” 2009 Texas House and Senate legislation (HB741/SB515) – instead of strictly abstinence only – fewer abortions would be contemplated.
--- Click here for MORE ON THIS NEWS ITEM!... ---
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
New Report Sharply Criticizes Sex Education In Texas Schools
According to a report (PDF Full/Summary) released Wednesday by the Texas Freedom Network a majority of Texas schools use scare tactics and teach false information in their sex education classes. TFN's two-year study of education materials from 990 Texas school districts showed that about 94 percent of public schools use abstinence-only programs that usually pass moral judgments while giving inaccurate information on contraception and health screenings or ignoring the subjects altogether.
The report, written by David Wiley, professor of health education at Texas State University, and Kelly Wilson, assistant professor of health education at Texas State, concludes that school administrators' fear of controversy and retaliation from religious groups is a primary factor behind their reluctance to program accurate and more comprehensive sex education curricula. Wiley and Wilson analyzed curricula and district policies obtained from most of Texas’ 1,031 public school districts through requests under the Texas Public Information Act. Their report finds that most Texas students receive no instruction about human sexuality apart from the promotion of shaming and fear-based sexual abstinence instruction that often includes inaccurate or no information about contraception methods that prevent disease transmission and pregnancy.
Wiley and Wilson also found that many Texas public schools mix religious instruction and Bible study into sex education programs. "Hardly a page can be found that does not include multiple references to Bible verses, invocation of Christian principles, even attempts to proselytize students with the Christian plan of salvation," the report states about one program called "Wonderful Days" used by three districts in the Fort Worth area.
Kathy Miller, president of the Freedom Network’s Education Fund, said in a news conference announcing the report that "we must stop burying our heads in the sand about high teen birth and STD rates and make sure young people get the medically accurate information they need to protect their health. . ." Texas continues to have one of the nation's highest teen pregnancy rates despite receiving more federal abstinence funding than any other state. (Watch TFN's "Sex Ed...Texas Style" videos)
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) a Texas teen gets pregnant every 10 minutes. Texas Medicaid paid for 173,226 deliveries in Texas last year, at an estimated total cost of $420 million. Approximately 10% of these deliveries were to teen mothers aged-13-17, at a cost of $41 million. To lower unplanned teen pregnancy rates, older children must be told more about sex than "just say no." It is a documented fact that comprehensive sex education and family planning programs do lower unplanned pregnancy rates among all age groups.
Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, has called the federally funded abstinence-only program "an utter failure that has wasted more than $1.5 billion" over the past decade. Abstinence-only sex-education programs receive about $176 million each year in federal funding. "The United States is facing a teen-pregnancy health-care crisis, and the national policy of abstinence-only programs just isn't working. It is time for everyone who cares about teenagers to start focusing on the common-sense solutions that will help solve this problem," says Richards.
After falling steadily for more than a decade, the birth rate for American teenagers again started to increase in a sharp reversal as the Bush Administration and Republican controlled congresses increased federal funding and focused emphasis on abstinence-only sex education programs.
The teen birth rate rose by 3 percent between 2005 and 2006 among 15-to-19-year-old girls, after plummeting 34 percent between 1991 and 2005, according to National Center for Health Statistics. After the teen birth rate rose sharply between 1986 and 1991, hitting an all-time high of 61.8 births per 1,000 girls, a massive comprehensive sex education campaign countered that trend and teen pregnancies plummeted between the 1990s and 2005.
Like other critics, Cecile Richards notes that several major studies find no evidence that abstinence-only programs successfully deter teen sex and pregnancies. The most recent study, a large federal 2008 survey, again confirms previous studies in its finding that, "taking a pledge doesn't seem to make any difference at all in any sexual behavior, but it does seem to make a difference in condom use and other forms of birth control that is quite striking," according to Janet E. Rosenbaum of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Ms. Rosenbaum's report, that appears in the January issue of the journal Pediatrics, highlights that:
The report, written by David Wiley, professor of health education at Texas State University, and Kelly Wilson, assistant professor of health education at Texas State, concludes that school administrators' fear of controversy and retaliation from religious groups is a primary factor behind their reluctance to program accurate and more comprehensive sex education curricula. Wiley and Wilson analyzed curricula and district policies obtained from most of Texas’ 1,031 public school districts through requests under the Texas Public Information Act. Their report finds that most Texas students receive no instruction about human sexuality apart from the promotion of shaming and fear-based sexual abstinence instruction that often includes inaccurate or no information about contraception methods that prevent disease transmission and pregnancy.
Wiley and Wilson also found that many Texas public schools mix religious instruction and Bible study into sex education programs. "Hardly a page can be found that does not include multiple references to Bible verses, invocation of Christian principles, even attempts to proselytize students with the Christian plan of salvation," the report states about one program called "Wonderful Days" used by three districts in the Fort Worth area.
| Kathy Miller's news conference announcing the report |
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) a Texas teen gets pregnant every 10 minutes. Texas Medicaid paid for 173,226 deliveries in Texas last year, at an estimated total cost of $420 million. Approximately 10% of these deliveries were to teen mothers aged-13-17, at a cost of $41 million. To lower unplanned teen pregnancy rates, older children must be told more about sex than "just say no." It is a documented fact that comprehensive sex education and family planning programs do lower unplanned pregnancy rates among all age groups.
Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, has called the federally funded abstinence-only program "an utter failure that has wasted more than $1.5 billion" over the past decade. Abstinence-only sex-education programs receive about $176 million each year in federal funding. "The United States is facing a teen-pregnancy health-care crisis, and the national policy of abstinence-only programs just isn't working. It is time for everyone who cares about teenagers to start focusing on the common-sense solutions that will help solve this problem," says Richards.
After falling steadily for more than a decade, the birth rate for American teenagers again started to increase in a sharp reversal as the Bush Administration and Republican controlled congresses increased federal funding and focused emphasis on abstinence-only sex education programs.The teen birth rate rose by 3 percent between 2005 and 2006 among 15-to-19-year-old girls, after plummeting 34 percent between 1991 and 2005, according to National Center for Health Statistics. After the teen birth rate rose sharply between 1986 and 1991, hitting an all-time high of 61.8 births per 1,000 girls, a massive comprehensive sex education campaign countered that trend and teen pregnancies plummeted between the 1990s and 2005.
Like other critics, Cecile Richards notes that several major studies find no evidence that abstinence-only programs successfully deter teen sex and pregnancies. The most recent study, a large federal 2008 survey, again confirms previous studies in its finding that, "taking a pledge doesn't seem to make any difference at all in any sexual behavior, but it does seem to make a difference in condom use and other forms of birth control that is quite striking," according to Janet E. Rosenbaum of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Ms. Rosenbaum's report, that appears in the January issue of the journal Pediatrics, highlights that:
Teenagers who receive abstinence-only sex education and pledge to remain virgins until marriage are just as likely to have premarital sex as those who do not promise abstinence and are significantly less likely to use condoms and other forms of birth control when they do, according to a large federal survey released last month.Related Links:
More than half of youths became sexually active before marriage regardless of whether they had taken a "virginity pledge," but the percentage who practice precautions against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases was 10 points lower for those receiving abstinence-only education and making abstinence pledges.
Planned Parenthood of North Texas: Lobbying for Women's and Teens' Reproductive Health
By Linda Magid
Every ten minutes a teen in Texas becomes pregnant.
Texas has the highest teen birth and repeat birth rates in the U.S.
60% of teen mothers fail to graduate from high school.
These are only a few of the statistics Kelly Hart and Dawna Cornelieson of Planned Parenthood of North Texas (PPNT) shared with the members of Texas Democratic Women of Collin County (TDWCC) at their January 26 meeting. Kelly Hart, Director Public Affairs, and Dawna Cornelieson, Community Advocate, gave an eye-opening presentation on the demand for reproductive services for low income women and for comprehensive sex education in schools, and how the Texas State legislature is getting in the way.
Planned Parenthood of North Texas has teamed up with Texas Freedom Network to create “Education Works!” a coalition to support the passage of comprehensive sex education legislation in the 2009 Texas state legislative session now in progress. This legislation (HB741/SB515) sponsored by Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio) and Senator Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) will:
“It is about time Texas wakes up to the reality that teens are having sex. But we need other organizations like parent organizations and medical organizations that work with teens and any group that cares about this issue to sign on to Education Works! and support this effort,” says Ms. Hart.
Following the Planned Parenthood of North Texas presentation given by Hart and Cornelieson to TDWCC members in January, the TDWCC members voted overwhelmingly to join the Education Works! initiative.
Ms. Hart also discussed a PPNT lobbying effort to change budgetary restrictions hampering the organization’s ability to serve Texas women. In 2003, certain State legislators wanted to keep Planned Parenthood from receiving state money. At first, these politicians successfully attached a rider to the budget stopping any provider who offered or worked with a provider offering abortions from receiving family planning funding. PP took the State to court and won.
In 2005, legislators attached a rider to the Texas budget to send Family Planning funds to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQs). These clinics are typically located in the poor parts of Texas and serve people who do not qualify for Medicaid. While it might seem like the money is going to the right place, women are not benefiting from this change because 1) Texas as fewer FQs than family planning clinics so they serve a smaller community, and 2) FQ’s don’t generally perform family planning services. In fact, they typically send their patients with family planning needs to clinics like Planned Parenthood. So, the $10 million in women’s health funding given to these clinics doesn’t get used and is sent back to Austin, and women who need pap smears, breast exams, STI testing and contraception are not served.
In addition, women’s health centers across Texas have been forced to either shorten their hours or close completely. For example, a Planned Parenthood clinic in Austin severely reduced its hours in 2005 and will only serve certain women – the most “necessary” population. The clinic has yet to resume full business hours or services. Texas has 300 various family planning clinics in Texas but Planned Parenthood serves the highest number of patients. These other clinics, run by county health departments and community health departments, don’t have the money or staff to lobby their State representatives. And neither do low income women.
On March 12, PPNT holds a Legislative Day, bringing volunteers from North Texas to Austin to ask State representatives to support Education Works! bills. It costs $25 (scholarships are available). No experience is necessary, just a willingness to support this important bill.
Visit http://www.ppnt.org/lobbyday2009.html for more information.
Listen to a October 8, 2007 Texas Public Radio report by Terry Gildea that highlights a missed opportunity when the 2007 Texas legislative session failed to pass a bill similar to this year's Education Works! bill that could have provided more resources for teens and parents.
Related Posts:
Additional Reading Suggestions:
Linda Magid was Campaign Manager for Tom Daley, Democratic Candidate, District 3, 2008. Currently, Magid is Assistant Chair of a campaign development committee in Collin County.
Every ten minutes a teen in Texas becomes pregnant.
Texas has the highest teen birth and repeat birth rates in the U.S.
60% of teen mothers fail to graduate from high school.
These are only a few of the statistics Kelly Hart and Dawna Cornelieson of Planned Parenthood of North Texas (PPNT) shared with the members of Texas Democratic Women of Collin County (TDWCC) at their January 26 meeting. Kelly Hart, Director Public Affairs, and Dawna Cornelieson, Community Advocate, gave an eye-opening presentation on the demand for reproductive services for low income women and for comprehensive sex education in schools, and how the Texas State legislature is getting in the way.
Planned Parenthood of North Texas has teamed up with Texas Freedom Network to create “Education Works!” a coalition to support the passage of comprehensive sex education legislation in the 2009 Texas state legislative session now in progress. This legislation (HB741/SB515) sponsored by Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio) and Senator Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) will:
…require schools to still discuss abstinence but also require information be included alongside about testing and prevention for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and complete, medically-accurate information about the health benefits and risks of contraception and condoms.No Texas school district is required to offer a sex education course. If they choose to, they must emphasize abstinence over all forms of contraception. At this time, schools are not required to offer any information on contraception at all. Study after study has shown that abstinence-only education does not prevent teens from having sex.
Additionally, this bill includes strategies to encourage young people to develop healthy communication with their parents and peers, and help build other living skills such as goal setting and responsible decision-making about sexuality.
Quoted from PPNT website
“It is about time Texas wakes up to the reality that teens are having sex. But we need other organizations like parent organizations and medical organizations that work with teens and any group that cares about this issue to sign on to Education Works! and support this effort,” says Ms. Hart.
Following the Planned Parenthood of North Texas presentation given by Hart and Cornelieson to TDWCC members in January, the TDWCC members voted overwhelmingly to join the Education Works! initiative.
Ms. Hart also discussed a PPNT lobbying effort to change budgetary restrictions hampering the organization’s ability to serve Texas women. In 2003, certain State legislators wanted to keep Planned Parenthood from receiving state money. At first, these politicians successfully attached a rider to the budget stopping any provider who offered or worked with a provider offering abortions from receiving family planning funding. PP took the State to court and won.
In 2005, legislators attached a rider to the Texas budget to send Family Planning funds to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQs). These clinics are typically located in the poor parts of Texas and serve people who do not qualify for Medicaid. While it might seem like the money is going to the right place, women are not benefiting from this change because 1) Texas as fewer FQs than family planning clinics so they serve a smaller community, and 2) FQ’s don’t generally perform family planning services. In fact, they typically send their patients with family planning needs to clinics like Planned Parenthood. So, the $10 million in women’s health funding given to these clinics doesn’t get used and is sent back to Austin, and women who need pap smears, breast exams, STI testing and contraception are not served.
In addition, women’s health centers across Texas have been forced to either shorten their hours or close completely. For example, a Planned Parenthood clinic in Austin severely reduced its hours in 2005 and will only serve certain women – the most “necessary” population. The clinic has yet to resume full business hours or services. Texas has 300 various family planning clinics in Texas but Planned Parenthood serves the highest number of patients. These other clinics, run by county health departments and community health departments, don’t have the money or staff to lobby their State representatives. And neither do low income women.
On March 12, PPNT holds a Legislative Day, bringing volunteers from North Texas to Austin to ask State representatives to support Education Works! bills. It costs $25 (scholarships are available). No experience is necessary, just a willingness to support this important bill.Visit http://www.ppnt.org/lobbyday2009.html for more information.
Listen to a October 8, 2007 Texas Public Radio report by Terry Gildea that highlights a missed opportunity when the 2007 Texas legislative session failed to pass a bill similar to this year's Education Works! bill that could have provided more resources for teens and parents.
Related Posts:
Additional Reading Suggestions:
- Teen Birth Rate Rises in U.S., Reversing a 14-Year Decline
- Premarital Abstinence Pledges Ineffective, Study Finds
- Many Teens Don't Keep Virginity Pledges
Linda Magid was Campaign Manager for Tom Daley, Democratic Candidate, District 3, 2008. Currently, Magid is Assistant Chair of a campaign development committee in Collin County.
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