by Emilie Egger

Sometimes it takes a bit of pop culture to expose societal problems. Case in point: Bristol Palin’s ex-boyfriend Levi Johnston sits down with Tyra Banks, today, sparking national furor as he spills secrets of his relationship with the mother of his child, rising the ever-controversial issue of the abstinence-only education debate.

In response, Palin family immediately released a statement in which they reprimand him for allegedly going behind their backs to speak with Tyra and fudging the truth about some of the details – but the more interesting part of the statement focused on Bristol herself:

“Bristol’s focus will remain on raising (her son), completing her education, and advocating abstinence” (emphasis mine).

Bristol Palin an abstinence advocate? Not the last time I checked.

Far from being an advocate, Bristol has spoke against abstinence as the ideal form of birth control, citing her situation as a perfect example that it doesn’t always work out. During a recent interview with Greta van Susteren of Fox News, Bristol called abstinence “completely unrealistic.” That doesn’t sound like an advocate to me.

The point of this post is not to give more attention to the over-covered Palin saga; the issue here is much larger than an Alaskan love affair gone wrong. The Palin/Johnston war of words shows the cyclic nature regarding abstinence-only education running through legislatures and schools, affecting women and girls across the country and world.

Bristol Palin isn’t an abstinence-only advocate because, like most people, she knows that it doesn’t work for everyone. Sarah Palin’s statement reiterates her abstinence-only stance because she knows this position produces the kind of rhetoric that will buy her friends and possible votes among conservatives in Washington and in the heartland.

The two Palins represent the warring thoughts on abstinence and sex that trickle down from Congress to health classes. Americans have sex before they are married. It is as simple as that. Everyone knows it.

Sarah Palin, listen to Lawrence B. Finer, conductor of the study “Trends in Premarital Sex in the United States, 1954–2003,” who states that 95 percent of the population gets it on before marriage. Yes, abstinence might be a good option, but it is an option that apparently only 5 percent of Americans are choosing for the long term.

Palin preaches: “No-sex until there is a ring-on-your-finger-education” which is funded on the federal level to at least $200 million a year. On a global scale, the U.S. government is known to withhold funding from overseas organizations that don’t preach abstinence or mention abortion (thing the Global Gag rule, which thankfully President Obama, recently overturned).

People uninformed (or misinformed) about safe sex through abstinence-only education are far more likely to end up with an unwanted pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STDs), issues which affect women far more than men. The United Nations Population Fund says sexual diseases affect women more than five times the rate of disease and infection in men.

And pregnancy often puts women subject to anti-choice laws and restrictions promoted by the same politicians advocating abstinence-only. These issues can be prevented when people are correctly informed, not when ideological government officials promote their version of ideal sexual behavior.

During her Fox interview, Bristol said she would like to be an advocate “against teen pregnancy,” which is a completely different thing than promoting only abstinence. Most people would like to lower teen pregnancy rates (which are indeed declining). And while abstinence works for some, the effects of teaching Sarah Palin’s way or the highway will hurt both women and girls — both in the present and the future.

Instead of ideological legislation that “protects” women and girls from having sex we need laws that protect the right of all people to access to a comprehensive education enabling them to make smart decisions.

Emilie Egger is a English, history, modern languages majors at Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo. She is avid blogger, news junkie and raging feminist.