Sex ed policy is ineffective
Published Monday, May 14, 2007 in the Springfield State Journal Register

Since 1996 more than $1.5 billion has been spent by the states and federal government to provide abstinence-only sex education classes for young people.

Last month, findings from a long-term, scientific evaluation of abstinence-only programs that was ordered by Congress were released. The evaluators in the study concluded that “youth in the program group were no more likely than control group youth to have abstained from sex and, among those who reported having had sex, they had similar numbers of sexual partners and had initiated sex at the same mean age.”

In other words, abstinence-only sex education is not working with the desired result - to prevent young people from having sex until they are married.

Meanwhile, every day in the United States 10,000 young people contract a sexually transmitted disease. More than 2,300 each day become pregnant.

The newest government report echoes what medical groups have been saying for the last 10 years - abstinence-only education is ineffective, a waste of money and deprives many young people of knowledge that could prevent disease and unwanted pregnancies.

We do not doubt the good intentions of those who push abstinence-only programs. Nor do we believe that the message of abstinence should be removed from sex education programs for young people. However, requiring that it be the only message to the extent that important reproductive health information is censored is doing a disservice to the young people we are supposed to be trying to help.

The push to move away from abstinence-only sex education is not fueled by some wacko, ultra-liberal group eager to see promiscuity promoted for teenagers. Comprehensive sex education is actually supported by medical groups such as the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, and the Institute of Medicine.

These groups have good reason for criticizing abstinence-only programs.

A congressional analysis of the content of federally funded abstinence-only curricula found that 80 percent of the material supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services contained distorted and/or false information about health matters related to sex.

The analysis found false information concerning birth control, religious beliefs presented as scientific fact and errors in medical and scientific facts.

No sex education program is meant to promote sex among young people. Yet some people - we believe a distinct minority - believe that by simply providing information about condoms and other birth control measures, the program is inherently promoting sex. Experts say the most effective sex education programs in preventing disease and pregnancy do include this information. Yet federal mandates preclude such highly effective programs from receiving federal funding.

That is irresponsible and ineffective policy and it should change.

Abstinence-only sex education is wishful thinking. A significant number of young people will have sex before marriage - 70 percent of females and 62 percent of males by age 18 have had sexual intercourse.

Now we know factually that abstinence-only sex education will not prevent kids from having sex. It will, however, prevent them from knowing about the dangers and consequences of that act.