To the editor:

As a woman, I find it heartbreaking that our society still does not have a cohesive, informational, and factual program set in place to teach every teen in our state about safe sex practices, including abstinence and contraceptive use.

I feel that it is outrageous that our teens receive little to no sex education in schools, and that the limited instruction they do receive focuses almost solely on telling youth not to have sex.

Schools exist to give our teens information on the world around them. No matter how hard we try to ignore it, teenagers are participating in sexual activities.

In fact, the CDC reports that 59.5% of 9th graders in Mississippi have had intercourse.

We have to open our eyes - no longer can we push sex education under the rug.

Sex education is just that, education. Students need complete, medically accurate instruction on how to stay safe when they become sexually active.

We are failing our youth by not giving them the information they need to make informed decisions. The USA has the highest teen birth rate in the developed world, and Mississippi has the highest teen birthrate in the nation.

My state, your state, deserves better.

Knowledge is power - teens deserve access to information that will help them make responsible decisions about their health and their future.

Please stand up and support comprehensive sexual education in schools!

— Terri Boteler

Laurel