Medical Accuracy Debate: Act Now to Protect Children
Why is abstinence education being singled out from every other school subject for accuracy?
Even a brief glance at some school textbooks is sufficient to see that our children are sometimes misinformed. Textbooks are often grossly out-of-date due to school system budgets and printing cycles. Health education textbooks often contain medical inaccuracies due, in great part, to the speed of change in research. Science moves at lightning speed. Updated research is released daily.
There is no need for controversy over the importance of accuracy in education. Accuracy is vital to the education of society and our children. Textbooks, teachings and presentations in our public school systems should be 100 percent up-to-date and accurate. But how often does this occur?
After research is released it has to be objectively compared and contrasted with previous research for validity. But, even if researchers are able to painstakingly weed out their own biases in gathering their data and conclusions, the teachers who then present the materials possess belief systems that color every ounce of subject matter they teach. To see these differences we would need to go no further than merely watching two teachers teaching the same subject with the same textbook or curriculum. Mere nuances can change the entire meaning of the information presented. Knowing the almost unfathomable numbers of factors affecting accurate teaching today what is driving the opponents to abstinence education to cry foul?
And so the question must be asked: Why the huge state- and federal-level uproar over abstinence curricula and its medical accuracy?
Follow the Money
Make no mistake; the abstinence education medical accuracy war is over economics. This battle rocketed into the mainstream with the first federal funding for abstinence education in 1996. For the first time, the “safe-sex” monopoly was in jeopardy. What would happen if abstinence education actually worked? It would mean — and indeed has meant — that a multi-billion dollar industry that profits from teen sexual activity could take a significant financial hit.
According to a January 2004 Heritage Foundation report, the government spent $1.73 billion on family planning, “safe sex” and contraceptive promotion in 2002. During the same period total government spending for abstinence education was $144.1 million. That means that for every dollar spent on abstinence, $12 was spent on contraception-based education and activities. “Safe-sex” promoters stand to lose a lot of money if teens abstain from sex until marriage. And, conversely, the same people have a lot to gain if they can discredit abstinence education and regain their school sex education monopoly.
The Waxman report: Is it significant?
In December 2004 Representative Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) released his report on abstinence education programs, titled The Content of Federally Funded Abstinence-Education Programs. The report claims,
Under the Bush Administration, federal support for “abstinence-only” education programs has expanded rapidly. The federal government will spend approximately $170 million on abstinence-only education programs in fiscal year 2005, more than twice the amount spent in fiscal year 2001. As a result, abstinence-only education, which promotes abstinence from sexual activity without teaching basic facts about contraception, now reaches millions of children and adolescents each year.
However, Rep.Waxman failed to mention the billions of dollars schools will spend on condom-based education in 2005 — as compared to the $170 million on abstinence education. And he failed to state that most abstinence programs do teach the basics of contraception. But then it all comes down to definition. Representative Waxman might be distraught that abstinence programs do not demonstrate how to put on condoms or discuss when — according to “safe-sex” advocates — they need to be applied or removed. But most abstinence programs do discuss the very real federal government statistics regarding the fact that condoms provide only limited protection against most sexually transmitted diseases and next to no protection for others. Claiming abstinence programs utterly ignore contraceptives is a lie.
Medical accuracy – what is the definition?
So what is the current truth about the protection of condoms and their consistent use by teens? As stated by The Medical Institute for Sexual Health:
An NIH panel on condom effectiveness reviewed scientifically credible studies on condom effectiveness for reducing the risk of various STIs; condoms appear to provide some (~50%) risk reduction for some STIs in gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis when used correctly all the time. Condoms, however, are rarely used consistently and correctly. A study conducted over a period of six months at teen clinics found that ‘always’ condom use was reported only 13% of the time. In another study almost a third of females reported using condoms. Adolescent males have been found to report condom use slightly more often than females, but still less than 50% of the time.
The only logical conclusion from the vehement disagreement on medical accuracy is that the pro-condom advocates conclude that it is healthy and necessary for teens to have sex. Abstinence until marriage advocates recognize the truth: sex outside of marriage damages the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being of the individual. Sex outside of marriage is never healthy and never safe. To base the argument on the fact that we do not provide the information on contraceptive use to teens to assist in their sexual behaviors is ridiculous at best and commonly known as a lie.
Call to Action
The medical accuracy war is erupting at the state level as never before. States are dealing with issues including federal abstinence funds hijacked for condom-based education, use of federal funds for media campaigns to keep abstinence education from reaching classrooms, health officials refusing federal dollars for abstinence education, and biased health guidelines used in enacting state statutes. States are requiring medical accuracy in their sex education curricula with no definition of the term or oversight to enforce the term. Strong examples can be seen in New Mexico, Arizona and Washington State among many others. Since there is no other topic in health education in our public schools that promotes less than the highest in standards for healthy behaviors one has to wonder why sexuality is pinpointed. It’s pinpointed because ensuring that our kids are sexually active as soon as possible is at the root of a financially driven war.
Securing the highest medical accuracy standards in our public schools’ sexual health teachings requires actions. All sexuality curricula — not just abstinence curricula — need to be checked for inaccurate information. We need to demand from our legislators that all sexuality curricula are checked for inaccuracies — and that includes all condom-based sex education curricula. This will expose the gross inaccuracies of condom-based education that has promoted the lie of safe-sex for over 40 years.
Visit CitizenLink for the name of the Representatives and Senators in your state. Write, email or fax your thoughts and opinions to them. Make your voice heard! Your child’s health is at stake.
Linda Klepacki, RN, MPH, is Focus on the Family’s Sexual Health Analyst.
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