Rep. Stuart Spitzer (TP- Kaufman) wants to cut $3 million from programs to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.  Spitzer instead wants Texas to spend that money on abstinence education – something even he admits has not been particularly effective. Texas has the third highest HIV infection rate in the U.S. and the fifth highest rate for teen pregnancy.  But these daunting statistics did not prevent the GOP-dominated House from overwhelmingly approving Spitzer’s budget amendment.  But that did not happen until Spitzer had made a fool of himself in verbal jousting with Democrats opposed to the measure.

Spitzer, a surgeon, proclaimed that his personal goal “is for everybody to be abstinent until they’re married.”  Spitzer then backed up his wishful thinking about controlling other people’s sex lives with an example from his own personal experience. Spitzer extolled the virtues of abstinence by telling his fellow Legislators that he practiced abstinence until marriage.

“What’s good for me is good for a lot of people,” argued Spitzer.

Rep. Harold Dutton (D-Houston) then asked Spitzer if abstinence worked for him.

“It did. I’ve had sex with one woman in my life and that’s my wife,” Spitzer answered alsco claiming that he was a virgin at age 29 when he got married, and that his decision not to have premarital sex enabled him to become a surgeon and state representative.

Dutton wasn’t through Spitzer yet, “Is that the first woman you asked?” Dutton asked.

Spitzer kept digging the hole deeper, when claimed that sexual intercourse was the only way to contract STDs.

“If you think you can’t get an STD without having sex, maybe we need to educate you on how to get STDs,” said Rep. Nicole Collier (D-Fort Worth).