Most People Support Comprehensive Sex Education, Opinion Piece Says

Although many people believe there is a "deep schism" between Americans who support abstinence-only sex education and those who support comprehensive sex education, this notion is "utterly false," columnist Anna Quindlen writes in a Newsweek opinion piece that will appear in the March 16 issue. According to Quindlen, although Americans disagree about "whether more emphasis should be on contraception or on abstinence," nearly 90% of respondents to recent polls report supporting sex education in schools. She continues, "I'm not sure that many people would agree about teaching long division." However, despite these "astonishing" poll results, "none of this is what you would hear if you put your ear to the ground in Washington, D.C.," Quindlen writes.

According to Quindlen, "In yet another example of how things can go horribly awry within that zone of magical thinking, Congress has poured $1.5 billion into what is essentially anti-sex ed, abstinence-only programs" despite three facts. First, abstinence-only programs "don't work," Quindlen writes, citing an HHS study conducted during former President George W. Bush's administration that found that young people who took abstinence-only classes were just as likely to have sex as those who did not take the classes. In addition, Quindlen writes that abstinence-only programs are "actually counterproductive" because studies indicate that students in these programs are less likely to use contraception when they become sexually active. Finally, Quindlen writes that "everyone understands" the shortcomings of abstinence-only programs, which is why a "growing number of states are turning down federal funds for abstinence-only education."

Quindlen writes that President Obama's budget "seems to reflect the sentiment of most Americans, promising to 'stress the importance of abstinence while providing medically accurate and age-appropriate information to youth who have already become sexually active.'" She continues, "In our current straitened economic atmosphere, there must be no more of what our grandmothers called 'throwing good money after bad' for junk virginity pedagogy that emphasizes the eww factor with photographs of lesions."

Quindlen writes that because Americans have "become accustomed to thinking there are two sides" to every issue, they believe that there are two equal sides, "especially the ones on which people scream the loudest." She continues, "Perhaps this issue offers an opportunity for elected-official ed too," noting that it is "worth looking past the dueling paid faces to actual public opinion about what appear to be contentious issus -- but sometimes aren't." Quindlen writes that "[c]ommon sense dictates that schools should offer a comprehensive view of sexual behavior, including a guide to those measures that can help sexually active students avoid visiting an abortion clinic or experiencing burning during urination." Quindlen concludes that "elected officials might try a comprehensive view, too, before they use scarce resources on programs they've embraced mainly because they do not offer the inconvenience of complexity" (Quindlen, Newsweek, 3/16).


Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.


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