Opinion Piece Supports Abstinence Education

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 30 Jun 2008 - 1:00 PST

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Congress should "recognize" the "growing body of research" that affirms the efficacy of abstinence-only sex education when debating funding levels for sex education programs, Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association, writes in a Manchester Union-Leader opinion piece. According to Huber, recent data from CDC's 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that more teenagers "are having sex with more partners" and that "[f]ewer young people are using condoms" regularly. "For parents and public health officials," the survey "signals a warning," Huber writes, adding, "In spite of increased HIV/AIDS education and millions of taxpayer dollars spent in the name of 'comprehensive' sex education, teens remain at risk for the dangers associated with casual sex." Abstinence-only sex education is an "easy scapegoat" for those who oppose it, but it cannot "be ignored" that comprehensive sex education programs have received funding for more than 25 years, Huber writes. Studies have shown that "abstinence education delays sexual onset, helps sexually experienced teens discontinue their sexual activity and helps currently sexual[ly] active teens reduce number of partners while using condoms at the same rate as their peers," Huber writes. Congress "must recognize" this "growing body of research" and "honor the 80% of American parents who, despite political ideology, support continued funding for abstinence education," she concludes (Huber, Manchester Union-Leader, 6/25).

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