Miss. Lawmakers Debate Sex Education In Response To Reports Finding High Teen Birth, STI Rates

Lawmakers in Mississippi are debating whether to adopt a comprehensive sex education program after a recent CDC report found the state has the highest teen birth rate in the nation, the AP/Biloxi Sun Herald reports. The AP/Sun Herald reports that it is "still considered taboo in many circles" to openly discuss sex in Mississippi, where the CDC report found that the teen birth rate was 60% higher than the national average in 2006 and state law does not require sex education in public schools. Shawna Davie, the Reproductive Freedom Project coordinator for the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi, said the state "has been put in a bit of a pickle" because federal funding is not available for comprehensive sex education programs. Davie said the cost of comprehensive sex education curricula would not exceed more than the expense of training educators and purchasing classroom materials. Davie said the cost of comprehensive sex education curricula would not be much beyond the expense of training educators and purchasing classroom materials, some of which are available for free.

State Sen. David Jordan (D) is sponsoring a bill (S 2291) to create a pilot sex education program that would allow the state Board of Education and the state Department of Health to decide which grades would be included and how the program would be implemented. The program also would allow parents to decide whether to their children would participate. He said that abstinence "has its place but you need to talk about the consequences." According to the Department of Health, there were 432 new cases of chlamydia in young people ages 10 to 14 and 8,444 cases among youth ages 15 to 19 in 2007. There were 2,641 new cases of gonorrhea among young people ages 15 to 19 in 2007.

Comprehensive sex education opponent Rep. Philip Gunn (R) said any information beyond simple education about the reproductive process should be given by parents. He added, "By teaching kids how to have sex and telling them these techniques, they are endorsing the practice. Abstinence is the way to go" (Byrd, AP/Biloxi Sun Herald, 1/25).


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