Just say no to abstinence-only sex education?

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing about the effectiveness of government funded abstinence-only education programs in high school.

Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) made reference to Centers for Disease Control data that shows that one in four teenage girls has a sexually transmitted infection and that 30 percent of American women become pregnant before the age of 20. For African American and Latina women the rate is 50 percent. “If we’re serious about responding to these challenges,” Waxman said, “We must base out policy on the best available science and evidence, not ideology.”

The first panel was comprised of members of Congress: Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Rep. Lois Capp (D-CA). Capp testified as a member of Congress and also as a registered nurse familiar with school nursing and sex education programs. She said that it is important to teach prevention but in the context of a comprehensive education program. She said that her state of California is one state that has not received federal funding for abstinence only sex education because of the restrictions on how the money most be spend. ‘”Evaluation of the program proved that youth who were given abstinence-only education were not less likely than youths in control groups to report a pregnancy or sexually transmitted infection.”

Brownback’s testimony focused on the perspective of parents, 80 percent of whom, he said, would like their children to abstain from sex until marriage. He gave personal anecdotes about his 5 children and the attitudes that are taught about sex in his family. He urged the committee to review just the parts of abstinence-only education programs that don’t work and avoid targeting just abstinence-only programs for review.

Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) was the most direct in his questioning asking the witnesses if they thought questions from a sexual education text about sex acts were appropriate. Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA) said that she represents “a district called Hollywood” and that more comprehensive sex education is necessary in light of the entertainment media that comes out of her district. Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT) supported that same point saying that American young people “see it, they read about it, so why shouldn’t they talk about it.”