'Tragic Outcomes' Of Teen Pregnancies Shows Abstinence-Only Programs 'Not Working,' Opinion Piece Says

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Pregnancy / Obstetrics;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 10 Apr 2008 - 8:00 PDT

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The "tragic outcomes" of two recent pregnancies among Texas teenagers shows that abstinence-only sex education programs are "not working," Peter Durkin, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas, writes in a Houston Chronicle opinion piece. Durkin adds that the "most concern[ing]" questions regarding the incidents are whether the pregnant girls' male partners were involved and how the situation can be prevented.

According to Durkin, the teen pregnancy rate in Texas has "remained relatively constant" during the past decade despite the more than $1.5 billion the federal government has spent on abstinence-only education in public schools. "Shouldn't a billion dollars have an impact" on the teen pregnancy rate? Durkin asks, adding that the "fact is the programs aren't making a difference in teens' lives, and we continue to waste taxpayer dollars on ineffective programs."

Teens across the U.S. are receiving "value-laden" sex education that "ignores both teen biology and the reality of today's teen life and simply tells teens" just don't have sex, according to Durkin. Adults "need to do something to help teens," Durkin writes, adding that teens need "support and guidance on how to handle the tough situations they deal with everyday." Adults can discuss abstinence with teens but "must also give them information to avoid risky situations" by "teaching them medically accurate sex education and giving them information about contraception and how to use it consistently and effectively, not just failure rates," Durkin says.

Sex education should begin "at home with parents, should be supported by faith communities and should continue in schools," Durkin writes, adding that parents should "demand that schools provide accurate information, not ideological instruction." He concludes that it is "time we start dealing with the real world instead of our ideal world and try our best to prevent" negative outcomes to teen pregnancies "from happening again" (Durkin, Houston Chronicle, 4/7).

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