Abstinence Only Doesn’t Work
That was the message to a House Committee today, by such medical experts from the American Academy of Pediactrics.
Programs teaching U.S. schoolchildren to abstain from sex have not cut teen pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases or delayed the age at which sex begins, health groups told Congress on Wednesday.
The Bush administration, however, voiced continuing support for such programs during a hearing before a House of Representatives panel even as many Democrats called for cutting off federal money for so-called abstinence-only instruction.
“Vast sums of federal monies continue to be directed toward these programs. And, in fact, there is evidence to suggest that some of these programs are even harmful and have negative consequences by not providing adequate information for those teens who do become sexually active,” Dr. Margaret Blythe of the American Academy of Pediatrics told the committee.
Some of the harm:
Lawmakers cited government statistics showing that one in four U.S. teenage girls has a sexually transmitted disease and 30 percent of U.S. girls become pregnant before the age of 20.
Now, my Rep. decided to get himself some ink, deriding health experts as being “elitist.”
Rep. John Duncan, a Tennessee Republican, said that it seems “rather elitist” that people with academic degrees in health think they know better than parents what type of sex education is appropriate. “I don’t think it’s something we should abandon,” he said of abstinence-only funding.
Except, in one County of Duncan’s own district, where Abstinence Only is taught, a whopping 28% of young girls, under the age of 20, become pregnant. This may be slightly below the national average, but it’s pushing the envelope (and keep in mind the stats are from 2006). And then there is the report late last year on TN’s rising STD rates. Tennessee may be known as the Volunteer State, but right now it seems that our youngsters are only volunteering to pass on STD’s.
This isn’t about medical professionals being elitist (how obtuse does Duncan think we are?) it is about medical professionals looking after the health of these young women and men in our fair state, and all the young women and men across the country. Shame on Duncan for spinning a major health concern into some politically motivated circus for some ink.
Lest we forget, abstinence is part of a comprehensive sexual education program.
Filed under: Reproductive Health, US House | Tagged: abstinence only, American Academy of Pediatrics, comprehensive sex ed, Rep John Duncan, STD's, teen pregnancy, Tennessee
[...] Crone Speaks hits Congressman Jimmy Duncan for support of abstinence-only sexual education: [I]n one County of Duncan’s own district, where Abstinence Only is taught, a whopping 28% of young girls, under the age of 20, become pregnant. This may be slightly below the national average, but it’s pushing the envelope (and keep in mind the stats are from 2006). And then there is the report late last year on TN’s rising STD rates. Tennessee may be known as the Volunteer State, but right now it seems that our youngsters are only volunteering to pass on STD’s. [...]
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