I was only five when I lost my mom to HIV/AIDS. Half orphaned as a result of risky sexual behavior, I should be a number-one advocate for abstinence-only education. Yet, I am stopped in my tracks by statistics that show purity contracts and pledges of no-sex-until-marriage are often forgotten in a few months or years.
Of course I have seen the reports of runaway teen pregnancy rates and the inability of contraception to protect people from sexually transmitted diseases -- and of course I want to protect myself.
But I also have emotions and in a world that does not always seem fair or rational, I need to be able to protect myself from the consequences of irrational decisions.
Abstinence only education campaigns have shifted from religious scare tactics to pop culture subliminal messages. Every day, my younger sister, age 9, and her friends are bombarded with images of purity rings, virginity pledges, and the importance of having wholesome values-and that's just while they are watching the Disney Channel.
But will these messages work? For some they will. Everything works for someone, but what do we do for those who will fall victim to hopeless love?
While no one can agree on what the answer to that question is, popular consensus seems to agree that abstinence only education is not it. Statistics are screaming that telling youth to simply not have sex is neither constructive nor realistic.
In a survey published in the January 2009 issue of Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Professor Janet Rosenbaum found that "purity pledges" were no more effective than their advocates make out contraceptives to be. Her five-year study of two teen groups with similar religious views found that most of the abstinence pledgers were not less sexually active than non-pledgers -- but they were less likely to use condoms.
Last week the House voted to enact President Obama's request to replace funding for abstinence-only education with money for comprehensive "evidence-based" pregnancy and STD prevention programs. Obama plans to shift federal spending to conventional comprehensive sex education programs, community programs, and new innovative programs. That's wise. Recent studies show the United States leads all other industrialized nations except for some in the former Soviet Union. Teen birth rates spiked up again in 2006 and 2007, a new federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study reports, after 14 years of decline.
Pregnancy reduction has "stalled, and may even have reversed among certain groups of teens," according to a report by Columbia University and the Guttmacher Institute, not because rates of teen sexual activity have increased, but because the use of contraceptives declined.
Why has the "abstinence-only" flame fizzled so quickly? Advocates say we need to give it even more of a chance. But I don't hold out much hope. It is not that teaching abstinence is a bad thing. One of the most accurate messages we learn in school is that "the only safe sex is no sex." But young people want choices. We need to be able to make informed choices.
In theory, abstinence-only education is an ideal; in practice, emotions are real. In a tug-of-war of sexual tension, emotions often win. When they do, it is better for us to be able to comprehend the risks we are taking and to minimize the harms.
It is not fair that my mom was taken from me before either of our lives could truly begin. She contracted HIV before she was married. She made a decision. I don't want my life to follow that path, nor do I want that for my sister or my peers. But I understand the desire, the pleasure, and the pain that come along with sex, and ignoring those realities is not protecting me from anything.
“Game Plan†is a great abstinence-based curriculum that many schools across the United States are using. To learn more about “Game Planâ€, visit www.justsayyes.org
So does being properly educated about sex and birth-control use.
The main difference between Canadian and American societies is religion. The U.S. has an enormous amount of religion, yet teen pregnancies are rampant in the U.S. You would think that those 'Christian Values' would result in LESS teenage pregnancies than in Canada, but it doesn't.
Maybe 'Christian Values' aren't as good as just plain 'Values'?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vanessa-richmond/why-canadas-on-top-in-tee_b_178734.html
What about this bit of Rovian circular logic: No issue in this country, not guns, gays, war, has put Americans at each other more than abortion. AO and the lack of use/availability of contraception increases risk of unwanted pregnancies. Number one cause of abortion is pregnancy. Eliminate (through sex ed, contraception) unwanted pregnancies, you eliminate abortion and eliminate culture war over it, which is bad for Republicans who've come to depend on culture wars to win elections.
So, is AO a round about way of increaseing chances of Republicans winning elections? Hhhhmmm.
Experiment was repeated in WW2, Korea, and Viet Nam, with consistent results. Is there some data deficit at this point that mandates we should try again with High School students as guinea pigs?
The real issue is America is loosing its moral path in social relations much like its loosing its moral intelligence in business, health care, war, foreign relations, and so forth.
Youth cannot be trusted to have the answer because they r raised by forces which we have formed- ie. MTV, Hollywood, internet- and by ideas which are propagated for profit- individualism materialism, consumerism, etc.
America chose to mix the sexes in every public environment, decriminalize sex outside of marriage, made divorce easier, and has continually weakened the family by granting its powers to the state instead. The effects are becoming more obvious in certain 'canary in a coalmine' examples.
In the African American community, 60% of homes are single parent led. 90% in many urban areas. The high school graduation rate for AA males is less than 50% nationwide, closer to 60% for AA females. AA males are 100 times per 1000 to have spent time in prison compared to European American/white males. HIV is growing fastest in America amongst gay males in urban areas, and AA females who contract HIV from AA males who have contracted it in prison.
Latin Americans are following close behind.
The effects are devastating. Sex outside of marriage and the collapse of the family are the pivotal factors. They destined to fragment and collapse the family structure in a society, period.
Still, it was not a one-night stand for either of them; they are now married and expecting number 2.
The point is that some problems will persist, but knowledge is the power to reduce them.
A very good point indeed. I cannot understand why people are so against freely imparting the knowledge of how to protect themselves to teenagers. True they may noy make good use of the knowledge in all cases, but why hide the truth? I always thought education was about spreading information and "just say no" isn't information at all.
Grow up, sex is a part of life. I hate how we are so prudish as a society about anything sexual (except to sell consumer products- if you pay for sexual gratification it is ok ;) yet have no problem letting youngsters watch violence in and out and all about.
Those two need to switch, it should be easier for a thirteen year old to see boobs, penises, and sex, than it is for them to see gory scenes of people being mutilated and killed and inflicted with terror.
I do have to say, though, that AO is rather shortsighted for the masses of conservative pervs out there -- if they win, they eliminate their potential cheating partners.
Sickeningly, my old Jr High, built a day care for its student's kids.
Boy is that the understatement of the century!
More to the point: It's human nature. We cannot stop sex from happening. That's the nature of chaos! Our biggest problem is ignorance, and our greatest weapon, education.
We have to stop being mistrustful of our kids, stop condescending to them, and, in short, treat them like adults!