Supporters of abstinence only education have chalked a new study by John B. Jemmott III, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania as a win in their column. The study, published in the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, compared the delay of sexual activity amongst students who participated in four different curriculums: abstinence only, safe sex, comprehensive, and a generic health class. The abstinence only portion proved to be the most successful. After two years, 67% of the students had abstained from sex as opposed to 58% of the students who learned a comprehensive curriculum.
Though many supporters of abstinence only education view this study as indisputable evidence of its efficacy, there is reason to be skeptical. First, one study does not undo the multiple studies that prove abstinence only to be ineffective. It is important to note that this particular study is very different from traditional abstinence based curricula. It doesn't teach misleading information like "condoms don't work" nor does it use a moralistic tone to convey its message. In fact, the purpose of the curriculum is to delay sex until "you are ready" rather than until marriage. This curriculum wouldn't even have been eligible for Bush era funding for abstinence based programs and very likely would be eligible for Obama's pregnancy prevention funding as it is medically accurate.
"One of the things that's exciting about this study is that it says we have a new tool to add to our repertoire," said Monica Rodriguez, vice president for education and training at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States.
I think that is exactly what we can expect from the results of this study. I hope we won't have to worry about a return to abstinence only education funding any time soon. If anything, there is now at least a scientific medically accurate curriculum available for school districts that are unlikely to implement comprehensive education.
As always, Planned Parenthood advocates for teaching sex education that emphasizes abstinence as the best way to avoid unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, but that also provides young people with medically accurate, age-appropriate information about healthy communication, responsible decision making, contraception and disease prevention. We here at PPWP have been organizing around state legislation that would mandate comprehensive sex education in Pennsylvania public schools for the last year. To get your voice heard on this matter, call your state representative and tell him/her to support H.B. 1163, the Healthy Youth Act!
Showing posts with label Sex Education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sex Education. Show all posts
10 February 2010
04 August 2009
Anna in Ireland...
Submitted by Anna Donohoe, PPWP Grassroots Organizing Intern
“Don’t get your knickers in a twist over sex education” says Ireland’s Sunday Independent columnist Carol Hunt. This is not the attitude I expected before I got here, I must admit. I was imagining a very socially conservative and mostly Catholic society; and therefore I assumed everyone would be tight-lipped and prudish about sex education. Some background: I am in central Ireland visiting my relatives at the moment (all of my father’s family lives here), and that is why I decided to focus on sex ed in Ireland for this blog entry.
I asked two of my cousins about sex education (sex ed is called Relationship and Sexuality Education or RSE here) and what they were taught in school—one said that at his school it’s really up to the teacher’s discretion whether you get a comprehensive curriculum or an embarrassed abstinence-only approach. His sister agreed, saying her class at the same school got much less in-depth information than his. I’ve also been doing online research, and following day-to-day leads such as a television ad campaign.
There are two different TV ads by the same organization geared to teens and young adults that really put birth control in the spotlight—my favorite was aired during prime time on one of the most popular channels a few days ago. The ad starts with a passionate embrace in a fast food restaurant. As the cashier offers the couple their food, she asks “Do you want condoms with that?” Several more intimate scenes are similarly interrupted, then a voiceover says “You have 350 million chances of becoming pregnant after unprotected sex” and ends with the slogan “Nobody else is going to do the thinking for you—www.thinkcontraception.ie” The Think Contraception website is hip, professional, and very informative: male and female contraceptive choices listed separately, reproductive health & STI information, a 10 question quiz, a list of external resources and more. It was encouraging to see the ad on television, and to find out that it came from reliable and helpful source.
Emergency contraception (EC) is also a hot topic here- the Irish Family Planning Association has been working to make EC available over-the-counter for years now, but as yet women in Ireland must go to their doctor or a family planning clinic to get EC. One of the reasons EC is such a contentious issue here is that Ireland is a very anti-abortion country. According to Positive Options Crisis Pregnancy Services, “Abortion is illegal in Ireland except where there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother.” It is however legal for Irish women to travel abroad in order to get abortions (though they will only be told about this option by their doctors under very select circumstances because of the particulars of the abortion law).
I hope to visit the Irish Family Planning Association’s Dublin clinic to do some more digging while I’m here. I’m very glad to have been positively surprised by the attitudes of Irish people towards sex education and contraception; and I wish the IFPA all the best in its battle to get over-the-counter EC!
For more information on sex education and related issues in Ireland go to:
http://www.thinkcontraception.ie/
http://www.ifpa.ie/
http://www.positiveoptions.ie/abortion_and_the_law/
http://www.crisispregnancy.ie/newsletter/newsletterv4_i2.htm
“Don’t get your knickers in a twist over sex education” says Ireland’s Sunday Independent columnist Carol Hunt. This is not the attitude I expected before I got here, I must admit. I was imagining a very socially conservative and mostly Catholic society; and therefore I assumed everyone would be tight-lipped and prudish about sex education. Some background: I am in central Ireland visiting my relatives at the moment (all of my father’s family lives here), and that is why I decided to focus on sex ed in Ireland for this blog entry.
I asked two of my cousins about sex education (sex ed is called Relationship and Sexuality Education or RSE here) and what they were taught in school—one said that at his school it’s really up to the teacher’s discretion whether you get a comprehensive curriculum or an embarrassed abstinence-only approach. His sister agreed, saying her class at the same school got much less in-depth information than his. I’ve also been doing online research, and following day-to-day leads such as a television ad campaign.
There are two different TV ads by the same organization geared to teens and young adults that really put birth control in the spotlight—my favorite was aired during prime time on one of the most popular channels a few days ago. The ad starts with a passionate embrace in a fast food restaurant. As the cashier offers the couple their food, she asks “Do you want condoms with that?” Several more intimate scenes are similarly interrupted, then a voiceover says “You have 350 million chances of becoming pregnant after unprotected sex” and ends with the slogan “Nobody else is going to do the thinking for you—www.thinkcontraception.ie” The Think Contraception website is hip, professional, and very informative: male and female contraceptive choices listed separately, reproductive health & STI information, a 10 question quiz, a list of external resources and more. It was encouraging to see the ad on television, and to find out that it came from reliable and helpful source.
Emergency contraception (EC) is also a hot topic here- the Irish Family Planning Association has been working to make EC available over-the-counter for years now, but as yet women in Ireland must go to their doctor or a family planning clinic to get EC. One of the reasons EC is such a contentious issue here is that Ireland is a very anti-abortion country. According to Positive Options Crisis Pregnancy Services, “Abortion is illegal in Ireland except where there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother.” It is however legal for Irish women to travel abroad in order to get abortions (though they will only be told about this option by their doctors under very select circumstances because of the particulars of the abortion law).
I hope to visit the Irish Family Planning Association’s Dublin clinic to do some more digging while I’m here. I’m very glad to have been positively surprised by the attitudes of Irish people towards sex education and contraception; and I wish the IFPA all the best in its battle to get over-the-counter EC!
For more information on sex education and related issues in Ireland go to:
http://www.thinkcontraception.ie/
http://www.ifpa.ie/
http://www.positiveoptions.ie/abortion_and_the_law/
http://www.crisispregnancy.ie/newsletter/newsletterv4_i2.htm
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