| Letter to Rolling Stone on abstinence-only ed |
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Published in RS897: Correspondence, Love Letters, and Advice While we recognize the need for diverse voices in all forms of public discourse, the arguments of the “abstinence entrepreneurs” cited in “Virgins, Inc.” are just plain wrong. In 1998, a controlled study comparing an abstinence-only program with a safer-sex initiative showed that the abstinence program caused little change in student behavior, while many students in the safer-sex program reported less sexual activity as well as less frequent unprotected sex. Last year, then-Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher found evidence to support that providing information about contraception does not increase teen sexual activity. Abstinence-only sex ed can actually hurt students. A study published last year in the American Journal of Sociology showed that teens who make “virginity pledges” as part of abstinence programs are one-third more likely to have unprotected sex when and if they break their pledge. Abstinence programs receiving federal funding must teach that the only acceptable sexual behavior happens within a heterosexual marriage -- ignoring the sexual health needs of gay and lesbian students, and sneaking state-sanctioned homophobia into our public-school curriculum. If we want our children to be able to make responsible choices about their sexuality, we have to trust them with the facts they need. Crystal Plati and Sadie Crabtree Choice USA Washington, D.C. |
