Column in Hot Springs Sentinal-Record

FACTS ON TEENS AND SEX
“Abstinence Education Good for Schools,” says Jim Davidson (11/27). Abstinence is a great idea, Jim. I’m all for it. But, the statistics on the ineffectiveness of abstinence education are irrefutable. It does not work to keep our teens safe from unwanted pregnancies, STDs (sexually transmitted diseases), or abortion. Period.
The facts are clear. According to recent research, regardless of whether they have taken a virginity pledge, the majority of young people (88% of pledgers and 99% of non-pledgers) will have sex before they marry. Those young people who pledge are likely to marry at younger ages, which may account for the 11% difference between pledgers and non-pledgers. (National STD Prevention Conference, March, 2004) Is marrying younger in order to have sex a good thing? A recent study in Canada revealed that 75 out of 100 teens who take an abstinence pledge have sex within one year. (Sue Johansen, Canadian sex educator, www.talksexwithsue.com)
Did Mr. Davidson bother to do any research before spouting his deeply held (and blatantly sexist) belief that all we have to do is...“teach teenage girls in our schools that they should not engage in sex until after they are married.” No mention of the boys here. These morally based attitudes are aimed at keeping the girls “pure.” Boys are apparently exempt.
What about “it doesn’t work” does Arkansas and the current federal administration (recently dumping another 70 billion dollars into this program) fail to understand? “Abstinence education,” in fact, is an oxymoron. There is nothing educational about preaching abstinence, no learning involved—it is a moral point of view, best left to discussion in the home or in a church setting, not in our schools. On the contrary, in the educational setting proscribed by Arkansas state law, there is little education about contraception and STDs. Any information about emergency contraception, which is extremely effective after the fact, is notably absent.
A study conducted by Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) found that 11 out of 13 abstinence programs studied taught things that were at best misleading and at worst completely wrong, such as “HIV can be transmitted through tears.” Statistics are twisted to try to frighten teens into abstinence and leaves them dismally unprepared when their raging hormones overwhelm their good intentions. (Do you remember being a horny teenager, Mr. Davidson?)
In fact, you cannot “teach” teens or “persuade” them not to have sex. The factors determining when a person becomes sexually active are too complex to address here. (I spent over 20 years counseling with and learning from these teens, frequently listening to their thoughts and attitudes about sex.)
There is a frightening attitude among some abstinence supporters that if teens don’t really PLAN on having sex by protecting themselves from pregnancy and STDs, but only “fall from grace” innocently and spontaneously in the heat of passion, that they are somehow less culpable and “more pure.” Sadly they can still die from AIDS, or their lives can be irrevocably altered from bearing a child they are in no way prepared to care for, by being forced to marry much too young, or by suffering the trauma of giving up a baby, or having an abortion. Do any of these outcomes justify persisting in an educational program that doesn’t work? Is anyone really concerned about the reproductive health and quality of future lives of our teen-agers?
Even for an unprepared, poorly informed teen, all is not lost if she only had easy access to emergency contraception, “Pro-life” advocates have consistently rejected emergency contraception, claiming that it prevents implantation of a fertilized egg and is therefore “an abortion pill.” Again, misinformation prevails in order to support the moral position that abstinence is the only way. A 2003 study (by the FDA) suggests that progestin-only ECPs (Emergency Contraception Pills) work by preventing ovulation or fertilization, and have no effect on implantation. The facts that should certainly interest pro-life folks is that the use of emergency contraception could prevent 1.7 million unintended pregnancies and 800,000 abortions annually (this means reduce by half). This is a 1998 statistic, and the situation is far worse today.
When used within 24 hours of unprotected intercourse, progestin-only ECPs were found to reduce the risk of pregnancy by 95% (World Health Organization-supported study involving almost 2000 women in 21 clinics around the world) If taken within 72 hours, they reduced the risk of pregnancy by 89%. If you are paying attention so far, here are more facts you need to know.
In 2000, Arkansas had the highest teen pregnancy rates in the nation, 1 of the 10 highest birth rates for pregnant teens, and the lowest percent of decline since 1991, (SIECUS) Nationally, 3.750,000 teens contract STDs annually, including syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, human papilloma virus (HPV), bacterial vaginosis, genital herpes, and Hepatitis B (Kaiser Family Foundation, 1998). Many of these young people suffer long-term health problems or infertility as a consequence of their infections.
In 2003, 4293 Arkansas youth (0-19) contracted Chlamydia and 1257 teens contracted Gonorrhea. As of September 2004, 21 Arkansas teens (15-19) were diagnosed with early Syphilis and 11 were diagnosed with HIV. (Arkansas Department of Health)
It is as though unprepared teens who fail their abstinence pledge must be punished by disease and denied access to a safe way to prevent pregnancy, and are often thereby pushed into having an abortion. This seems to be the “pro-life” stance. Go figure.
Please, let’s join together to protect our teen-agers from STDs, pregnancy, and abortion. Isn’t this what we all, pro-life and pro-choice, really want? If you are as appalled as I am by the statistics I have presented here (you can can find all these studies and many more on the Internet) and by the ineffectiveness of the current state-mandated “abstinence-only” education program in our schools, please speak out. We need reality-based solutions to the problems facing our teens.

Ann
Hot Springs