Abstinence education not providing protection

Vice President of Public Policy at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) William Smith said there has not been “a single sound peer review study” that abstinence-only education in schools has any positive long-term effects on children. Smith added that abstinence-only education “does not work.”

SIECUS says that 25 states have withdrawn from the “Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Program,” which includes a 40 percent decrease in participation of this program in the last two years. Smith called this a “paradigm shift” in the way sex education is taught in schools.

Vice President of Communications and Information at SIECUS Martha Kempner said much of abstinence-only education is “based on religion.” She added that many of the facts taught “present stereotypes and biases as fact.” She cited one such curriculum, “Healthy Images of Sex (HIS),” that said that a married couple has health, money, and a happy child. Conversely, HIS says that a single parent has an increased risk of illness, poverty, and child abuse.

Kempner said that “gay and lesbian couples are never acknowledged” in abstinence-only education. She said the purpose of this type of education is to “promote heterosexual marriage.”

In regards to abortion, Kempner said that this type of education has an “anti-choice agenda.” She continued, saying HIS says that abortion leads to higher potential for infertility and cancer. She said that first trimester abortions are “completely safe.” She added that abstinence-only education is “an attempt to advance the social conservative agenda.”

SIECUS reports that over the past 25 years, Congress has spent $1.5 billion on abstinence-only education. Smith advocated the passing of the Responsible Education About Life Act, an act that would provide federal funding for “responsible sex education” in schools.