Abstinence education still coming up short in Texas
A flag for the Texas Longhorns waves at the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
By Steve Benen 05/06/15 10:40 AM—Updated 05/06/15 12:46 PM
Rick Perry may have been Texas governor for 14 years, but for me, there’s always been one brief exchange that summarized so much of his lengthy tenure.
In 2011, the Republican governor sat with Texas Tribune editor Evan Smith who passed along a question from the public. The voter wanted to know, “Why does Texas continue with abstinence education programs, when they don’t seem to be working?” The question was well grounded in fact: in the areas of teen pregnancies and teen births, Texas ranked among the worst in the United States.
The reporter pressed on, reminding the governor, “But we have the third-highest teen teen-pregnancy rate among all states in the country. The questioner’s point is, it doesn’t seem to be working.” The governor responded, “It – it works.”
The school district’s superintendent, Jim T. Rumage, stands by his chlamydia-friendly strategy of telling kids to wait until marriage. “If kids are not having any sexual activity, they can’t get this disease,” he told the Express-News in a phone interview [ http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/1-in-15-high-school-students-have-Chlamydia-at-6240944.php ]. That is true! Also true: If you never eat any food, you probably won’t get cavities, and so there’s no point in manufacturing toothbrushes.
Health insurers would be prohibited from covering abortion in all cases save for medical emergencies under a bill the Texas Senate gave preliminary approval to on Tuesday. […]
Under SB 575, private health insurance plans and those offered through the federal Affordable Care Act’s marketplace could only provide coverage for abortions in cases of medical emergencies. Women seeking coverage for what Taylor calls “elective” abortions would be required to purchase supplemental health insurance plans.
Ten states now prohibit all health plans from covering abortion, and 15 prohibit abortion coverage on federal marketplace plans, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
I’m beginning to think Texas has more important things to worry about than martial law imposed after a U.S. military invasion.