Texas Textbook Debate Revolves Around Issue of Abstinence
by Jim Brown and Jody Brown
September 10, 2004
(AgapePress) - Official debate over abstinence-only health textbooks in Texas public schools has ended.On Wednesday, the Texas State Board of Education held its final public hearing on the four textbooks up for consideration. The books include two from Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, one from Delmar Learning, and one from Holt, Rinehart and Winston. In November, the board will vote on which ones to approve.
Opponents of the proposed books -- among them Planned Parenthood and the Texas Freedom Network -- claim the texts should include lessons on condoms and birth control. State guidelines require that students analyze the effectiveness of various forms of contraceptives, and opponents argue that since the heath textbooks being considered do not meet those guidelines, the books cannot legally be adopted.
But Cathie Adams with Texas Eagle Forum, who testified at the board's final hearing, says the publishers have already consulted teachers and parents about what they want their children taught.
"First and foremost ... this is not a sex education book; this is a health textbook," Adams says. "So in these health textbooks -- and in the one that I have personally read, the Glencoe health textbook -- it says that by abstaining from sexual activity, you never have to worry about an unplanned pregnancy. And [it says] you won't to have to worry about sexually transmitted diseases."
Adams contends that those of the "Planned Parenthood mindset" deceptively claim to support abstinence -- that while they may use the term "abstinence," they really mean something else. According to the Eagle Forum official, that camp says it knows people are supposed to abstain from sex because they are not married, but "like an animal nature, you don't really have the self-control that you need."
Adams says that lays the groundwork for offering condoms and the option of abortion -- and for undermining parental influence. Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion groups, she says, tell young people "here is where you go [for an abortion] once you get pregnant -- and we'll take care of you. We know that mom and dad are a little out-of-date.'"
Adopting the new textbooks, Adams adds, would be a "win-win situation" for parents, teachers, and "most importantly, the students of Texas."
