Posted by
Snake on Thursday, June 21, 2007 5:23:54 PM
There’s a storm brewing over a controversial topic and I just want to set the record straight on several accounts. If we would truly look at this issue in an objective manner it would be a no-brainer, and there definitely would be no need to seek shelter as the storm would subside in favor of what works, what kids respond to, and what responsible and caring parents want! For more proof, read on.
The recent studies that have been used to discredit Abstinence Education (AE), namely the Penn study on what parents/adults want taught and the Mathematica study on just four of the over 700 AE programs out there have been exposed as biased or bad research (on several accounts), and yet the mainstream media has made them headline news. However, two new studies that were done very objectively and proved the value of, and desire for, AE were relegated to little if no press or to the pages of the Internet.
This is extremely sad when you consider that we’re dealing with children’s lives, relationships and futures.
The key importance in this skewed reporting is that it affects the following:
- - Title V funding for Abstinence Education set to expire on June 30, 2007, if Congress simply takes no action.
- - Title V came about as result of Welfare Reform Act of 1996, Section 510, and contains the strongly researched and supported definition of abstinence and marriage.
- - If it expires it will make it much easier for the definition of abstinence to be changed.
- - Already “Contraceptive Education” (CE) groups have developed a “booklet” entitled The New Abstinence which essentially states that all sexual activity outside that which can lead to offspring (my paraphrase for brevity and cautiousness) can be considered “abstinence.” And they know full well that all of these other activities are risky and potentially harmful and many have long-term consequences!
- - In a surprising and “conflicting” move, Community Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) funding is being increased ($28 million) beyond President Bush’s budget recommendation, but the catch is that Family Planning is also being increased by the same amount of which almost all of this will go to Planned Parenthood for their “contraceptive education ideologies and ‘reproductive health’ clinics” (read on to see the “effects” and waste of contraceptive programs).
Regarding the aforementioned objective studies that would really clear the storm if acknowledged and supported, they were the recent Zogby study and the government’s own study done by the Administration for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on the CE programs that they endorse.
The Zogby study literally used wording from the actual training and teaching curricula of both CE and AE. When presented in this truthful light, parents wanted AE more than three to one over CE as they realized the positive benefit it would, and does, give to their children regarding personal efficacy and responsibility, self-control, healthy relationship skills, and sexuality.
The government study reviewed nine programs (of which Reducing the Risk is one and the most predominant one here in KY) and here are their own key findings:
1. CE curricula contains multiple examples of medical inaccuracy
2. CE does NOT emphasize abstinence (many claim they’re ‘abstinence based’)
3. CE does not clearly define parameters or definitions for abstinence
4. CE promotes risky sexual activities as “safe”
5. CE curricula is explicit and inappropriate
6. CE undermines the role of parents
7. CE is ineffective at delaying sexual onset
8. Congress must investigate the content, inaccuracies and ineffectiveness of funded CE programs and curricula.
The HHS study further revealed some startling components of the “contraceptive” sex education programs for teens as young as 13 that include:
- - Advocating showering together as a no-risk activity.
- - Promoting methods for sexual stimulation.
- - Conducting sexual role-play on how to help a partner maintain an arousal.
- - Describing how to eroticize condom use with a partner.
- - Suggesting teens wear shades or a disguise when shopping for condoms so adults and parents won’t recognize them.
On the other hand, numerous studies have shown that AE has done the following:
- - Reduced teen pregnancy rates to the lowest since the mid-1940s
- - Reduced teen sexual activity (from 55% in 1997 to nearly 46 % in 2005)
- - Delayed onset of initiation of sexual activity by at least one year to 18 months
- - Shown to reduce STIs and STDs in certain areas where AE is predominant
When all of this is taken into consideration, why would anyone advocate for continuing to gamble with the health and lives of our youth and the future of our world?
Call your Senators and Representatives, e-mail and fax them, and use these ‘talking points’ to drive home the point that you really do care, that you want AE funded with your tax dollars, and ask them to quit wasting our tax dollars on programs (CE) that actually cost us more, especially our youth! Let them know that you’ll be watching to see how they proceed on this crucial issue.
For anyone who cares about children and their futures, the evidence is clear and we need to get as many people on board for AE! Join us at Heritage of Kentucky and other great AE programs around the country because we really do care.