Abstinence-only education does not work. Despite the large number of medical journals and organizations that state this, the Bush administration continues to foolishly follow its ideological boondoggle of a program – to the tune of $176 million a year.
In Oregon, the once-dormant controversy has started anew, with the ACLU filing suit against the Oregon Department of Human Services for using public funds for the Lane Pregnancy Support Center’s “Stop and Think” program, which requires its presenters to hold Christian religious views. This proves what many all ready thought: Abstinence-only programs are based on ideology, not facts.
The use of public money for religious activities is a clear violation of United States Constitution and the Oregon State Constitution. It is also a waste of money.
In recent weeks, a number of venerable research institutions have released studies concluding that abstinence-only education is counterintuitive – a veritable torrent of data indicating that, at the very least, teenagers need information about birth control and emergency contraceptives.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, for example, released an update on its preferred policy for combating teen pregnancy. The update lambastes abstinence-only programs for not being realistic and not supplying teenagers with valuable information that could protect them.
“Even though there is great enthusiasm in some circles for abstinence-only interventions, the evidence does not support abstinence-only interventions as the best way to keep young people from unintended pregnancy,” said Dr. Jonathan Klein in an Associated Press story. He was chairman of the academy committee that wrote the recommendations.
And this is a general concern with programs of this nature, as sexual health programs at high schools are often scrutinized for their efficacy, regardless of their ideological slant.
The high school program Students Today Aren’t Ready for Sex, otherwise known as STARS, is an Oregon-based program intended to prevent the early onset of sexual behavior; it received relatively high marks in a study conducted by the Oregon Department of Human Services and the RMC Research Corporation, which stated that students’ “participation in STARS dramatically improved (their) knowledge about sexual behavior and peer pressure.”
But the program, which has no contraceptive component, can only be judged on the basis of what teenagers say, not what they do – meaning STARS’ students are extremely likely to repeat the no-sex-until-marriage mantra. Whether they live by their words, however, is questionable.
The fact remains that although teen pregnancy rates have dropped in the United States, we still have the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the developed world. This has nothing to do with our “lax morals,” or our sexually suggestive media – European countries with lower teen pregnancy rates feature full-blown sexuality in their media, including full-frontal nudity in advertising. This has more to do with honesty – honesty to teenagers and honesty to ourselves. It goes against good judgment to rely on sexual-health programs that do not mention contraceptives, because contraceptives are an important tool in promoting healthy relationships.
Abstinence-only education is predicated on religious-based values that do not consistently correspond to facts. We do not want teenagers to have sex, but taking a moralistic stance on sexuality – at the behest of religious values, narrowly defined to correspond to Christian scripture – is harmful, unconstitutional and an unwarranted waste of taxpayer money. For these reason, and myriad others, we should question the impact of these programs. Teen pregnancy, the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and the long-term societal impact of unsafe sexual practices implore us to do so.
For the sake of Oregon, and other free-thinking states, we hope that the ACLU wins its lawsuit.