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FEB.
6, 2006
SEXUALITY
Truth and consequences: the abstinence-only
education debate
The debate on how best to teach youth about sex is polarizing the nation. Everyone
wants to reduce teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease - and everyone
agrees that abstinence would do that. But parents, medical professionals, religious
groups and policy-makers are locked in fierce debate about what information
to include in public schools' sex education programs. Religious and social conservatives
back the federal government's emphasis on abstinence and say it is the best
way to reduce teen pregnancy. Major medical associations, health professionals
and other religious groups generally support what's known as comprehensive sex
education, which includes teaching about contraception as well as abstinence.
Most surveys show that parents and teens prefer comprehensive sex education.
Keys to the debate are the effectiveness and accuracy of programs and whether
abstinence-only instruction imposes religious beliefs on public school students.
Both sides claim
credit for falling teen pregnancy rates, yet the United States still has the
highest teen pregnancy rate among developed nations, and rates are highest among
minorities. Both sides also acknowledge that the success of sex education has
dire consequences for individual teens and for society.
What's new:
• The first comprehensive
government study on the effectiveness of abstinence-only education programs,
delayed since 2004, is due out later in 2006. Proponents hope the study will
offer solid evidence of abstinence-only education’s effectiveness. Opponents
hope the study will confirm their claim that there is no scientific evidence
that abstinence-only education reduces pregnancy rates or sexual activity.
• The South Dakota and Kansas legislatures are considering proposals on
sex-education requirements. (See a Jan.
25, 2006, Associated Press story about South Dakota and a
Feb. 3, 2006, Lawrence Journal-World story about Kansas.)
• The U.S. government continues to increase funding for abstinence-only
education and requires states to teach abstinence only in order to receive funds.
In November 2005, Maine joined California and Pennsylvania in rejecting thousands
of federal dollars in favor of teaching comprehensive sex education. (See a
Nov.
29, 2005, Stateline.org story.)
• The ACLU has a 2005
lawsuit pending against the U.S. government, accusing it of financing the
religious activities of Silver Ring Thing, a national program that provides
abstinence-only education. In 2002, the state of Louisiana settled a lawsuit
in which the ACLU asked it to stop funding abstinence-only programs with religious
content.
Why it Matters
Moral and religious values are central to the sex education debate, and both
sides have found allies among religious groups. Studies show that teens who
are involved in congregations are less likely to have sex or become pregnant.
The cost to society is significant. Young mothers are more likely to have babies
who die, to drop out of school, end up on welfare or in low-paying jobs, and
to have children with health and learning problems.
Questions for
reporters
• What is the content of public school sex education programs in your area?
Have abstinence-only programs increased?
• What groups are involved in the sex education debate?
• Have teen pregnancy rates in your area dropped, as they have nationally?
Among what groups? What factors are cited?
• What is the financial and social cost of teen pregnancies to your community?
• What do students, parents, teachers, counselors, health professionals
and clergy say is the most effective way to reduce teen pregnancy? Do parents
and students think sex education is best taught at school, at home or through
a place of worship?
• Are congregations providing sex education to members? What is the content?
• Are the groups that provide abstinence-only sex education in public schools
in your area religious or secular? How much has their funding increased in the
past three years?
• Have there been concerns that abstinence-only programs bring a religious
message into schools? What groups are working to prevent that from happening?
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National sources
See a Nov.
8, 2004, ReligionLink tip, "Texas
textbook vote has national implications," for national and regional
sources engaged in debates over how sexual education is taught in public schools.
GOVERNMENT
• Wade
Horn is assistant secretary of the Administration for Children and Families
in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and founder of the National
Fatherhood Initiative. Contact 202-401-2337, whorn@acf.hss.gov.
• Jeffrey Trimbath is director of the Health and Human Services abstinence-education
program. Contact 202-401-9205, JTrimbath@acf.hhs.gov.
• Patricia Thompson coordinated the government's Abstinence
Education Evaluation Conference in November 2005 in Baltimore. The agenda
lists speakers from organizations and national and state government. Contact
240-453-2835, pthompson@osophs.dhhs.gov.
FOR
COMPREHENSIVE SEX EDUCATION
RESEARCHERS
• Patricia Donovan is vice president for public education for the Alan
Guttmacher Institute, a proponent of comprehensive sex education. Contact
Rebecca Wind, 212-248-1111 ext. 2203, rwind@guttmacher.org.
• Tina Hoff is vice president of Entertainment Media Partnerships for the
Kaiser Family Foundation,
an independent organization that researches health care issues and policies.
With the Entertainment Media Partnerships, the Foundation partners with media
organizations to develop public education campaigns on a variety of health issues,
especially reaching young people with information about HIV and other sexually
transmitted diseases. Contact 650-854-9400.
• Joseph DiNorcia Jr. is president and CEO of the Sexuality
Information and Education Council of the United States. The organization
favors comprehensive sex education but is highly critical of current sex education
curricula in the nation's public schools. Contact SIECUS communications director
Adrienne Verrilli, 212-819-9770 ext. 325, averrilli@siecus.org.
RELIGIOUS
• The Religious Coalition
for Reproductive Choice was formed in 1973 to safeguard the right to abortion.
Its mission has expanded to include campaigning for comprehensive sex education.
RCRC is an alliance of 40
national faith organizations and 27
state affiliates. Its programs include Spiritual
Youth for Reproductive Freedom. Contact president and CEO the Rev. Carlton
W. Veazey in Washington, D.C., 202-628-7700, or director of communications Marjorie
Signer, 202-628-7700 ext. 12, msigner@rcrc.org.
• The Black
Church Initiative of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice helps
African-American clergy and congregations address teen sexuality issues. It
sponsors the National
Black Religious Summit on Sexuality; Keeping
It Real, a dialogue model; Breaking
the Silence, a curriculum for local congregations. Contact 202-628-7700,
bciinfo@rcrc.org.
• The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy has a Religion
and Public Values Program. It provides resources and training to help congregations
and faith groups address teen pregnancy. Contact Andrea Kane, akane@teenpregnancy.org.
• The Rev. Debra
W. Haffner, a Unitarian Universalist minister with a master's in public
health is director of the Religious
Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice and Healing, which advocates for comprehensive
sex education in faith communities and society. It supports the Religious
Declaration on Sexual Morality, Justice and Healing. It is based in Norwalk,
Conn. Contact 203-840-1148.
• The Unitarian
Universalist Association and the United
Church of Christ collaborated on a sexuality curriculum called Our
Whole Lives for five age groups, from kindergarten through adults. It
uses a comprehensive approach to preventing pregnancy. The curriculum contains
no religious references or doctrine, but a companion publication, Sexuality
and Our Faith, does and can be used with it. Contact 617-742-2100.
• The United
Methodist Church has faith-based
curricula that uses a comprehensive approach to sex education. Contact MaryJane
Pierce Norton, director of family ministries for the General Board of Discipleship
of the United Methodist Church, in Nashville 615-340-7170, mnorton@gbod.org.
• The Central Conference of American Rabbis passed a resolution in 2001
calling for comprehensive sex education and rejecting government funds for abstinence-only
programs. The group represents Reform Judaism rabbis. Contact Alexis Rice or
Mark Pelavint of the Union for Reform Judiasm, which handles press for the conference,
202-387-2800, 202-487-7017.
SECULAR
ORGANIZATIONS
• The National Coalition to Support Sexuality Education posts a list
of 140 organizations -- medical, social and religious - which support comprehensive
sex education. Contact 202-265-2405.
• Sarah Brown is director of the National
Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy in Washington, D.C. Contact 202-478-8510.
Cecile Richards is president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which
posts a page
on abstinence-only sex education. Contact through Gustavo Suarez at 212-261-4339
or Erin Kiernon, 202-973-4975.
• James Wagoner, president of Advocates
for Youth, a national, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C.,
that creates programs and supports policies to help young people make responsible
decisions about sex. Contact Bill Barker, 202-419-3420, bill@advocatesforyouth.org.
• Barnaby B. Barratt, a sex therapist from Southfield, Mich., is president
of the American Association
of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists, based in Virginia. Contact
248-737-3984, bbbarratt@earthlink.net.
• Kirsten Moore is president of the Reproductive
Health Technologies Project in Washington, D.C. Contact 202-557-3417.
• Judith Auerbach is vice president for public policy of the American
Foundation for AIDS Research. Contact Bennah Serfaty, 212-806-1607.
LEGAL
• Louise Melling is director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Reproductive
Freedom Project. The project looks at sex education programs in schools.
Contact Lorraine Kenny, 212-549-2634.
FOR
ABSTINENCE-ONLY EDUCATION
RESEARCHERS
• The Abstinence Educators'
Network is a resource for abstinence educators at the junior high and high
school levels. Contact 513-398-9801.
• Leslee Unruh is founder and president of the national Abstinence
Clearinghouse in Sioux Falls, S.D. Contact 605-335-3643.
• Dr. Joe
S. McIlhaney Jr., an obstetrician/gynecologist, is founder and chairman
of the nonprofit Medical
Institutes for Sexual Health, which has worked on pro-abstinence programs
with the Bush administration and faith-based groups. Contact 512-328-6268, medinstitute@medinstitute.org.
• Robert Rector is senior research fellow for domestic policy studies at
the Heritage Foundation.
He says abstinence is the only solution to teen pregnancy. Contact Khris Bershers,
director of media services, 202-608-6148 or 202-439-4986, KhrisBershers@heritage.org.
SECULAR
• LeAnna Benn is national director of Teen-Aid,
a nonprofit organization started in 1981 to try to reduce teen pregnancies.
The group, based in Spokane, Wash., believes the best method is abstinence education.
It lists laws
and statistics pertaining to sexuality, education and government funding
for all 50 states. Contact 509-482-2868.
• Anita Smith is vice president and co-founder of the nonprofit Institute
for Youth Development, which promotes a risk avoidance message that includes
sexual abstinence. Contact Debra Arrington, 703-471-8750 ext. 124.
RELIGIOUS
• Susan E. Wills is associate director for education for the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops' pro-life activities, which promotes abstinence-only
education. Contact 202-541-3070.
• True Love Waits
is a ministry of Lifeway
Christian Resources, which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention,
the nation's largest Protestant denomination. It is an international campaign
to keep teens and college students abstinent until marriage. Since its inception
in 1993, more than a million teens have signed covenant cards promising to be
abstinent until marriage. Contact 1-800-LUV-WAIT, truelovewaits@lifeway.com.
• Worth
Waiting For is a Christian ministry that teaches abstinence until marriage.
It provides local campaigns for communities and a Fearless Love curriculum for
churches. Contact director of ministries Linda Klepacki, a registered nurse
with a master's in public health, lindak@worthwaitingfor.org.
• Linda Klepacki is manager of the abstinence
department for Focus on the Family. The group supports the Bush administration's
funding for abstinence-only programs and its web site posts links to resources
and studies. Contact Christopher Norfleet, 719-548-4570.
• Genevieve Wood is communications director for the Family
Research Council. Contact 202-393-2100 or 703-338-5602.
• Andrea Lafferty is executive director of the Traditional
Values Coalition. Contact Amy Skeen, 202-547-8570.
• Lanier
Swann is director of government relations for Concerned
Women for America, which posts a page
supporting abstinence-only education. Contact 202-488-7000.
• David
Stevens is the executive director of the Christian
Medical Association, the nation’s largest faith-based organization
of doctors. It is based in Bristol, Tenn. Contact 423-844-1000.
Background
• Read a history
of abstinence-only sex education and government funding from the National Coalition
to Support Sexuality Education.
LEGAL
• Read an Aug.
24, 2005, Associated Press story about the government stopping funding of
a national program that teaches abstinence-only sex education after the ALCU
filed a lawsuit against the group, saying it promoted religion in public schools.
• Read the Roundtable
on Religion & Social Welfare Policy's analysis of ACLU of Massachusetts
v. Leavitt.
• Read
a June
27, 2005, Associated Press story about a judge dismissing a new challenge
to Louisiana's abstinence education program.
GOVERNMENT
The government promotes and funds abstinence-only sex education in several ways:
• A June 9,
2004, update on the U.S. government's Abstinence
Education Project includes links to past grant winners throughout the country,
a fact
sheet on government funding of abstinence programs and government contact
information.
• The White House web site describes abstinence-only
grant programs.
• See
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' state-by-state
list of abstinence-education program grant recipients for fiscal 2004. (Fiscal
2005 recipients are not posted.)
• The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy published a chart
of the various bills through which abstinence-only sex education is funded
nationally and in the states, including proposals for 2006 funding.
• See a chart
of states' sex education requirements, posted by the Guttmacher Institute.
STUDIES
• Read a backgrounder
on the current U.S. government study that is evaluating abstinence-only sex
education. Results, delayed since 2004, are due in 2006. The backgrounder is
provided by Mathematica, a social policy research firm. The backgrounder lists
the study's
investigators with contact information and the programs
in nine states that are being evaluated.
• Read a June
2005 interim U.S. government report on the first-year impact of four abstinence-only
education programs.
• In January 2006 Journal of Adolescent Health published a review
of U.S. sex education policies and programs, concluding that the government's
push for abstinence-only education is "morally problematic" and threatens
teens' human rights to "health, education and life."
• Read a Jan.
9, 2006, Chicago Sun-Times article about a study that showed that
young teen couples who do not have sex have a higher level of satisfaction with
their relationships than those who do. The study was funded by the U.S. government.
• Read a Feb.
1, 2005, Reuters story about a research study that showed that abstinence-only
sex education had no impact on the sexual behavior of Texas public school students.
Read a Medical
Institute report challenging this study.
• A
2003
survey by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy found that 94
percent of adults and 92 percent of teens believe it is important that society
give teens a strong message not to have sex until they are at least out of high
school. Six in 10 teens and three-quarters of adults wish teens were getting
more information about abstinence and contraception rather than just one or
the other. And 34 percent of teens say their own morals, values, religious beliefs
and concerns about their future influence their decisions about sex more than
concerns about pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases.
• Read the SIECUS report "Five
Years of Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Education: Assessing the Impact."
• Read a November/December
2003 report on factors, including religion, affecting the content of sex
education in U.S. public schools. It appeared in Perspectives on Sexual and
Reproductive Health and is posted by the Alan Guttmacher Institute.
STATISTICS
• Read a Sept.
15, 2005, report from the national Center for Health Statistics that includes
figures on sexual behavior among U.S. teens. It says, among other things, that
25 percent of 15-year-old boys have had vaginal intercourse, and the figure
jumps to 62 percent for 18-year-old males. The corresponding figures for girls
were 26 percent and 70 percent, respectively.
• Read a federal Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention report published in December 2004 on
teenage sexual activity and contraceptive use.
• Read a CDC
fact sheet on preliminary births data for 2004. It says that teen births
declined again that year, but at a much slower pace than observed since the
declines started after 1991.
NEWS
ARTICLES & TRANSCRIPTS
• Read a Nov.
29, 2005, Stateline.org story about Maine's decision to reject $160,000
in federal 2006 funding for abstinence-only education in favor of continuing
to teach comprehensive sex education.
• Read an Oct.
17, 2005, U.S. News and World Report article that asks whether schools
are giving students too much - or too little - information about sexual matters.
The magazine says California, Pennsylvania and, most recently, Maine have turned
down federal money for abstinence-only curricula so they can teach what they
believe is best.
• Read a July 5, 2005, Associated Press story, "Doctors
denounce abstinence-only education." It's posted by MSNBC.
• Listen to a June
14, 2005, National Public Radio report about results from the first major
national study of abstinence-only education.
• Read a PBS
transcript, posted in April 2005, of a discussion about sex education with
obstetrician/gynecologist Joe S. McIlhaney Jr. Dr. McIlhaney founded the nonprofit
Medical Institutes for Sexual Health, which has worked on pro-abstinence programs
with the Bush administration and faith-based groups.
• Read a PBS
transcript, posted in April 2005, of a discussion about virginity pledges
with Columbia University researcher Peter
Bearman. Bearman helped design and direct the National
Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, described as the largest and most
comprehensive survey of teens ever done. He is director of the Institute for
Social and Economic Research and Policy and the Paul F. Lazarsfeld Center for
the Social Sciences at Columbia, as well as chairman of the university's sociology
department.
Read a Dec.
2, 2004, Washington Post story about a congressional report that
found inaccuracies in some government-funded sex education programs that teach
abstinence only.
POLLS
• "Sex
Education in America," a January 2004 report from the Kaiser Family
Foundation, National Public Radio and the John F. Kennedy School of Government,
found that 15 percent of Americans want abstinence-only sex education taught
in schools, and 46 percent want abstinence taught along with contraception.
Only 7 percent said they did not think sex education should be taught in schools.
• A Jan.
28, 2004, Zogby poll of more than 1,000 parents found that 68 percent want
schools to teach teens that abstinence is best and 40 percent thought abstinence
and contraception should be taught in the same class.
• A Scripps
Howard Texas Poll commissioned by Protect
Our Kids found that 90 percent of respondents favor teaching public school
students with age-appropriate, medically accurate sex education that includes
information on abstinence.
• "Faith
Matters: Teenagers, Religion and Sexuality" found that 12th graders
involved in faith-based institutions were about half as likely to have had sex
as those who were not. The percentage drops by half again for teens who are
especially involved and say they have a deep personal faith. The survey of 5,800
teenagers from Roman Catholic, Unitarian Universalist, Jewish, and Islamic traditions
and 38 Protestant denominations was conducted between 2000 and 2002 by the Christian
Community.
• A poll
released Aug. 3, 2005, by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press
found that 78 percent of Americans favor allowing public schools to provide
students with birth control information while 76 percent believe schools should
teach teenagers to abstain from sex until marriage. Solid majorities in every
major religious group said schools should be allowed to provide students with
information on birth control methods, but 30 percent of white evangelical Protestants
were opposed. Among 18- to 24-year-olds, 83 percent said schools should offer
birth control information and 75 percent said schools should teach teenagers
to abstain from sex until marriage.
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