Reproductive Rights Prof Blog

Proponents Hope Health Care Legislation Will Save Abstinence-Only Sex Education

Wash. Post: Abstinence proponents look for aid from new health bill, by Rob Stein:

Proponents of sex education classes that focus on encouraging teenagers to remain virgins until marriage are hoping that the rescue plan for the nation's health-care system will also save their programs, which are facing extinction because of a cutoff of federal funding.

The health-care reform legislation pending in the Senate includes $50 million for programs that states could use to try to reduce pregnancies and sexually transmitted disease among adolescents by teaching to them to delay when they start having sex.

Under the federal budget signed by President Obama, such programs would no longer have funds targeted for them. . . .

Obama Signs Omnibus Spending Bill Including Defunding of Abstinence-Only Sex Ed Programs and Lifting Ban on DC Abortion Funding

ACLU Press Release: President Signs Omnibus Bill Including Major Civil Liberties Policy Advances For Washington, D.C.:

Bill Lifts 20-Year Ban On DC Abortion Funding, Ends Discriminatory School Voucher Program And Defunds Abstinence-Only Sex Education Programs

WASHINGTON – President Obama today signed into law the Fiscal Year 2010 Omnibus Appropriations bill, legislation that includes several positive civil liberties provisions for the District of Columbia including removal of a ban on financial aid for low-income women to receive abortions, expanded benefits for domestic partnerships and an end to D.C.’s discriminatory school voucher program. The omnibus bill includes several major appropriations bills: Labor, Health and Human Services, Financial Services and State and Foreign Operations. The American Civil Liberties Union hailed the omnibus bill as a huge step forward for civil liberties in the District of Columbia.

The passage of the Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations bill finally ends funding for the failed Community Based Abstinence Education program and instead directs significant resources into medically accurate, evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs. . . .
 
“District of Columbia residents have a lot to be thankful for with the signing of this law,” said Michael Macleod-Ball, Acting Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. “These significant and welcome changes to D.C. law will help to bring the District’s education program and drug and reproductive policies in line with the majority of the country and Constitution. We are especially encouraged to see Congress and the president reject abstinence-only education which censors information, promotes gender stereotypes, marginalizes gay and lesbian youth and jeopardizes the well-being of young people. We hope that the rest of the country will follow suit.”
 
The ACLU has long sought an end to the D.C. abortion ban, arguing that the District of Columbia ought to have the right, like other states, to use its own local, non-federal revenue to provide abortion care to its low-income residents. The ACLU has also made the elimination of abstinence-only-until-marriage funding a priority and was pleased to see the provision included in the Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations bill. Unfortunately, another provision included in the FY2010 Omnibus Appropriations bill preserves other abortion bans and fails to codify the global gag rule rescission that was offered by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and adopted by the Senate Appropriations Committee. . . .

Study Finds ManyTeenagers Have Had Sex Before Parents' Sex Talk

Time Magazine: Parents' Sex Talk with Kids: Too Little, Too Late, by Alice Park:

The sex talk is never easy. It's not comfortable for anyone involved — parents are afraid of it, children are mortified by it — which is probably why the talk so often comes after the fact. In the latest study on parent-child talks about sex and sexuality, researchers found that more than 40% of adolescents had had intercourse before talking to their parents about safe sex, birth control or sexually transmitted diseases.

That trend is troublesome, say experts, since teens who talk to their parents about sex are more likely to delay their first sexual encounter and to practice safe sex when they do become sexually active. And, ironically, despite their apparent dread, kids really want to learn about sex from their parents, according to study after study on the topic. . . .

Study Finds Casual Sex Does not Cause Emotional Damage

StarTribune.com: Casual sex – and no emotional wreckage?, by Josephine Marcotty:

Results of a study on casual sex among young adults surprise U researchers. But they note the physical risks.

As most every parent knows, hooking up for casual sex is bad for young people because it causes emotional or psychological damage.

Right?

Well, actually, no. At least not for young adults between the ages of 18 and 24, according to a new study by University of Minnesota researchers.

Even they found the results startling.

Trinidad & Tobago to Begin HIV/AIDS Education in Primary Schools Next Year

Trinidad & Tobago Express: AIDS education for primary pupils from Jan, by Aabida Allaham:

THERE are more than 200 HIV-infected children attending public schools in Trinidad and Tobago and they are silently shouting out for something to be done about the discrimination they are faced with, chief education officer at the Ministry of Education Peter O’Neil says.

’There are approximately 204 children in our system [who] are currently accessing treatment for HIV/AIDS and that in itself suggests that children are not least affected by this,’ O’Neil said yesterday, while addressing a small gathering of teachers at the Ministry’s World AIDS Day 2009 symposium at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Port of Spain. The event was entitled Let’s talk HIV/AIDS.

O’Neil, who spoke on behalf of an absent Education Minister, Esther Le Gendre, said in addition to the stigma and discrimination these children are faced with on a daily basis, ’some 38 children die every day in the Caribbean from HIV/AIDS’.

As a result, he said, AIDS education will be a part of the primary school curriculum from January.

Afghan Mullahs Get a Lesson on Birth Control

NY Times: Broaching Birth Control With Afghan Mullahs, by Sabrina Tavernise:

MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan — The mullahs stared silently at the screen. They shifted in their chairs and fiddled with pencils. Koranic verses flashed above them, but the topic was something that made everybody a little uncomfortable.

“A baby should be breast-fed for at least 21 months,” said the instructor. “Milk is safe inside the breast. Dust and germs can’t get inside.”

It was a seminar on birth control, a likely subject for a nation whose fertility rate of 6 children per woman is the highest in Asia. But the audience was unusual: 10 Islamic religious leaders from this city and its suburbs, wearing turbans and sipping tea.

The message was simple. Babies are good, but not too many; wait two years before having another to give your wife’s body a chance to recover. Nothing in Islam expressly forbids birth control. But it does emphasize procreation, and mullahs, like leaders of other faiths, consider children to be blessings from God, and are usually the most determined opponents of having fewer of them.

It is an attitude that Afghanistan can no longer afford, in the view of the employees of the nonprofit group that runs the seminars, Marie Stopes International. The high birthrate places a heavy weight on a society where average per capita earnings are about $700 a year. It is also a risk to mothers. Afghanistan is second only to Sierra Leone in maternal mortality rates, which run as high as 8 percent in some areas. . . . 

China Lacks Sex Education Despite One-Child Policy

Slate Magazine: Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex (But Didn't Learn Because You Grew Up in China), by Michelle Tsai:

BEIJING—The first time Hu Jing tried to have sex with her college boyfriend, there was a technical difficulty. "We knew we had to use a condom," she said. "But we didn't know how."

Faced with this conundrum, Hu and her boyfriend went looking for answers—he from his more experienced friends, she from the university library, where she combed through Dream of the Red Chamber, a literary classic from the Qing Dynasty.

The following week, they reconvened for a second try. This time, they managed to roll on the condom but then … well, where was the penis supposed to go? It took another week of research before they succeeded in doing the deed.

After three decades of the one-child policy, you'd expect people here to know how to have sex without getting pregnant. And you'd be wrong. In July, Chinese health officials said that 13 million abortions are performed in registered medical institutions each year, largely because people lack sex education. The number of unwanted pregnancies is even higher when you take into account abortions at unregistered medical clinics, not to mention the 10 million abortion-inducing pills sold each year. . . . 

Should Parental Control Trump Children's Right to Sex Education?

Huffington Post: Whose Right to Sex Education?, by Philip N. Cohen:

The principle of equality for children is fundamentally at odds with the American interpretation of the principle of equality for adults. We defer parenting to parents at the cost of equality for their children. This happens in myriad ways, lots of which involve education. Just as adults are free to donate thousands of dollars to just our neighborhood school's PTA, to benefit our children and evade responsibility for those of our non-neighbors, we may be free to dictate the terms of the education our children receive.

The right of the parents to control their children is great when it's great. And the denial of that right is often egregious when it's taken away from parents who are disenfranchised or oppressed, to the detriment of parents and children alike. But when it's exercised poorly, the right of parental control is too-often protected by law.

Take sex education. Most states let parents "opt" their children out of what little sex education is still offered. A new report from the Guttmacher Institute lists 37 states and the District of Columbia that permit parental opt-outs for education about sexually-transmitted infections (3 more require affirmative consent before any education on the subject may be delivered). And, before you think better of those without opt-out provisions - most of them only teach abstinence anyway. (Even when parents "opt in," what do they get? Teachers may have permission to teach about contraception while being blocked from its "advocacy or encouragement.") . . .

Philippine Congress Considers Measure to Expand Access to Birth Control

NY Times: Birth Control Bill Has Enemies in Philippines, by Carlos H. Conde:

Abortion is illegal in the Philippines, though birth control and related health services have long been available to those who can afford to pay for them through the private medical system. But 70 percent of the population is too poor and depends on heavily subsidized care through the public health system. In 1991, prime responsibility for delivering public health services shifted from the central government to the local authorities, who have broad discretion over which services are dispensed. Many communities responded by making birth control unavailable.

More recently, however, family planning advocates have been making headway in their campaign to change this. Legislation before the Philippine Congress, called the Reproductive Health and Population Development Act, would require governments down to the local level to provide free or low-cost reproductive health services — from condoms and birth control pills to tubal ligation and vasectomy. It would also mandate sex education in all schools, public and private, from fifth grade through high school.

Senate Committee Reinstates $50 Million in Funding for Discredited Abstinence-Only Education

The Gaggle (Newsweek): Abstinence-Only Education is Back, by Katie Connolly:

After weeks of railing against the price tag of health care reform, Senate Republicans managed to bond over pumping up the budget for one aspect of health care reform yesterday: abstinence-only education. Proposed by Utah Senator Orrin Hatch the amendment reinstates $50 million in funding for abstinence only education that President Obama had previously removed in his budget proposal earlier this year. Committee Republicans were joined by Blanche Lincoln (D. Ark) and Kent Conrad (D. ND) in voting up the measure, which passed 12-11.

I've been trying to think of a measured way to riff on this, but instead I'll be frank. It's an absolute waste of money. This is the sort of thing Republicans usually wail about - the federal government propping up a program where there is no evidence that said program works. Indeed, there's a mounting body of evidence that abstinence-only education is a categorical failure.

ACLU Asks Court to End Government Funding of Overtly Religious Abstinence-Only Program in Mississippi

ACLU press release (9/9): ACLU Asks Court to End Government Funding Of Religion In Mississippi Abstinence-Only Program:

Jackson, MS – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Mississippi today asked a federal court in Mississippi to end government funding of religion in the state’s abstinence-only-until-marriage program.  The case was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District on behalf of a teen and two community members who attended a state-sponsored abstinence summit in May of this year.

“The state of Mississippi cannot sponsor overtly religious events as part of its abstinence-only-until-marriage program,” said Brigitte Amiri, Senior Staff Attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project.  “This is not the first time the state has crossed the line in its abstinence programming, but we hope it will be the last. Instead of preaching, the state needs to start teaching youth how to make responsible and healthy decisions throughout their lives.” . . .

Conservative Groups Oppose United Nations Sex Ed Guide

NY Times: U.N. Guide for Sex Ed Generates Opposition, by Steven Erlanger:

PARIS — A set of proposed international sex education guidelines aimed at reducing H.I.V. infections among young people has provoked criticism from conservative groups that say the program would be too explicit for young children and promote access to legal abortion as a right.

The guidelines, scheduled to be released by Unesco in a new draft next week, would be distributed to education ministries, school systems and teachers around the world to help guide teachers in what to teach young people about their bodies, sex, relationships and sexually transmitted diseases. They would address four different age groups. . . .

But the conservative criticism has already caused one of the key participating and donor agencies, the United Nations Population Fund, to pull back from the project and ask that its name be edited out of the published material. . . .

Study Shows Young People Need Better HIV Education

Lesbian & Gay Foundation: Research reveals need for better HIV education for young people:

Over half the world's teenagers ignorant to HIV risks

A study by the international student organisation AIESEC has revealed that half of the world's teenagers admit to being ignorant about HIV risks.

The research, involved 1,566 young people from 99 countries, and showed that one in three youngsters apparently do not believe using protection stops the spread of sexually transmitted infections.

The results of the study highlight the need for improved health messages and sex education targeted at all young people from governments, parents and teachers.

Senate Committee Votes to End Funding for Abstinence-Only Programs

ACLU press release (7/30): Senate Committee Votes To End Funding For Failed Abstinence-Only Programs: 

Bill Puts Teens' Health Above Politics And Ideology, Says ACLU

WASHINGTON – The Senate Appropriations Committee today voted to end funding for failed abstinence-only-until-marriage programs and to put resources into programs that can help teens make healthy and responsible decisions about sexuality.

"After more than a decade, Congress has finally begun to put teenagers' health above politics and ideology. By removing funding from abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, the Senate Appropriations Committee showed its willingness to put an end to a sorry chapter in our public health policymaking," said Michael Macleod-Ball, acting Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. "The Committee's actions represent a looming victory for young people, parents and advocates of science-based approaches." . . .

India: New Delhi High Court Decriminalizes Gay Sex

NY Times (7/2): Indian Court Overturns Gay Sex Ban, by Heather Timmons & Hari Kumar:

In a landmark ruling Thursday that could usher in an era of greater  freedom for gay men and lesbians in India, New Delhi’s highest court decriminalized homosexuality....

Homosexuality has been illegal in India since 1861, when British rulers codified a law prohibiting “carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal.” The law, known as Section 377 of India’s penal code, has long been viewed as an archaic holdover from colonialism by its detractors...

Thursday’s decision applies only in the territory of India’s capital city, but it is likely to force India’s government either to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, or change the law nationwide, lawyers and advocates said.

Arizona, North Carolina Legislatures Take Action on Abortion, Sex Education

Daily Women's Health Policy Report: Arizona, North Carolina Legislatures Take Action on Abortion, Sex Education Measures:

The following summarizes news coverage on women's health-related legislation in Arizona and North Carolina.

~ Arizona: The Arizona Senate Public Safety and Human Services Committee on Wednesday voted 4-3 to approve a bill (S.B. 1206) that would place several restrictions on abortion rights and allow pharmacists or other health care providers to refuse to distribute emergency contraception based on religious or moral objections. . . .

~ North Carolina: The North Carolina Senate Mental Health and Youth Services Committee this week approved a bill (S. 221) that would require all public school systems to offer information on the use of contraceptives to students in grades seven through nine, the AP/Raleigh News & Observer reports. The information would be presented as part of a larger reproductive health education program that would maintain the abstinence-only education curricula currently taught at nearly all of the state's 115 school districts. . . .

Teens and Sex: Is The Internet Accurate?

Below the Belt (National Organization for Women): Teens and Sex: Is the Internet Accurate?, by Kim Gandy:

We live in a society obsessed with sex. Our relationship with sex, however, is conflicted and more than a little dysfunctional. Mixed messages abound. Popular culture and various institutions both glorify and demonize sex. And much of this is played out via the female body.

As young women attempt to navigate the sexual minefield laid out by the patriarchy, they need information that won't steer them wrong. The stakes are high -- unplanned pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, a life forever altered, a future interrupted. So how do they get good information?

Enter the Internet -- perhaps the most awesome research tool ever. With all that information at our fingertips and theirs, some of it's bound to be wrong, right? Right. In fact, new research from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital demonstrates that health websites often provide teens with factually-challenged and incomplete information about sex and sexuality.

Heading up the study was Dr. Sophia Yen, a specialist in adolescent medicine at Packard Children's Hospital, a clinical instructor of pediatrics at Stanford, warns: "Teens should be cautious about finding sexual health answers on the Web. . . . Even widely trusted sites like WebMD are not that accurate when it comes to adolescent reproductive health."

In a review of 35 popular health websites, Yen and her team identified the top six sexual health myths lurking online. These myths are the result of websites leaving out key pieces of information altogether, or simply failing to update their sites to reflect changes in knowledge or clinical recommendations....

Abstinence-Only Proponents Upset Over Obama's Budget Cuts

Amplify: The Abstinence Clowns Are Freaking Out:

Yesterday, President Obama struck a blow to the abstinence-only community, cutting ALL of their funding streams in his new 2010 budget. Obama made it clear that our government should no longer fund these failed programs that promote misinformation, misogyny, discrimination and, of course, juggling and cinder block wielding abstinence clowns.

And the response from these abstinence-only organizations has ranged from angry to completely unhinged.

The National Abstinence Education Association was the first to weigh in. From their press release:

Today's release of the 2010 Budget by the White House disregards the growing body of evidence supporting the effectiveness of abstinence education. Unfortunately, the president's budget ignores research that documents a 50% decrease in sexual onset among teens that are enrolled in abstinence programs.

****

"With seemingly plausible intentions, this budget places rhetoric over reality by ignoring clear and compelling evidence that abstinence education *does* work", adds Huber.

I’m sure you’re asking yourself, “what evidence”? The independent government-funded Mathematic study revealing the failure of abstinence-only programs? Rigorous reviews from both Advocates for Youth, and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, have identified which sex education programs are effective – and not one abstinence-only program made the cut. So the NAEA has been in panic mode.

Read the full post, which includes several illuminating videos of abstinence-only proponents.
H/T: Rebecca Bratspies (via Daily Kos).

The Problem With Bristol Palin's Abstinence Message

As she campaigns to prevent teen pregnancy, Bristol Palin has been preaching abstinence.  Her words are telling, however.  Palin reportedly has said, "Regardless of what I did personally, I just think that abstinence is the only…100% foolproof way you can prevent pregnancy."  But that "regardless" is exactly the point.  Abstinence-only advocates love to tout abstinence as the only "foolproof" way to avoid pregnancy.  Yet, like every other pregnancy prevention method, abstinence is only maximally effective if it is practiced perfectly and consistently.  When the effective rates of other contraceptives are given, those rates include "typical use" rates, which account for inconsistency of, or errors in, use. There is no reason to be confident that teens can practice abstinence perfectly, and Palin is the best example of that.  

Here's more on what it means to "use abstinence" and the difficulty in measuring its effectiveness, from the Guttmacher Institute.

Obama's Budget Slashes Funds for Abstinence-Only Education

Wall St. Journal: Budget Widens Teen-Pregnancy-Prevention Efforts, by Laura Meckler:

President Barack Obama's 2010 budget eliminates most federal funding for abstinence-only sex-education programs and replaces it with a pair of new teen-pregnancy-prevention programs that could include discussions of birth control.

But like other proposed cuts in the budget, it isn't clear whether Congress will go along. Liberals have derided abstinence-only education as ineffective and even misleading, but the Democratic-controlled Congress has continued to fund the programs.

In total, the Obama budget proposes $164 million for teen-pregnancy prevention. Of that, about 25% would be open to abstinence-only programs, which would have to compete with other initiatives. The rest of the money is reserved for programs that have been proved "through rigorous evaluations" to be successful, the administration proposal says.