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©Copyright 2005 NCAC
WEB DESIGN
Jeanne Criscola Criscola Design
free speech first amendment censorship
Abstinence-Only Education:
Why First Amendment Supporters Should Oppose It
Introduction. Abstinence-only education is one of the religious right's greatest victories. But it is only one tactic in a broader, longer-term strategy. Since the early 1980s, the "family values" movement has won the collaboration of governments and public institutions, from Congress to local school boards, in abridging students' constitutional rights. Schools now block student access to sexual information in class, at the school library, and through the public library's Internet portals. They violate students' free speech rights by censoring student publications of articles referring to sexuality. In abstinence-only classes, instructors force-feed students religious ideology that condemns homosexuality, masturbation, abortion, and sometimes even contraception.
Background. In 1981, Congress passed the Adolescent Family Life Act, also known as the "chastity law," which funded educational programs to "promote self-discipline and other prudent approaches" to adolescent sex, or "chastity education." Grant applications to create such programs poured in, and the dollars poured out?to churches and religious conservatives nationwide. The ACLU challenged AFLA in court, calling it a Trojan horse smuggling the values of the Christian Right—particularly its opposition to abortion—to public-school children at public expense: a classic affront to the principle of separation of church and state. (1)
A dozen years later, the Supreme Court held that funded programs must delete direct references to religion (for instance, the suggestion that students take Christ on a date as chaperone), and the granting process was reined in. But it was too late. Some of the biggest federal grant recipients, including Sex Respect and Teen-Aid, had already turned their curricula into robust for-profit businesses. Christian fundamentalist groups, which built much of that infrastructure, remain among the most vehement opponents of comprehensive sexuality education today.
In 1996, Congress struck again, attaching a provision to welfare legislation that established a federal program to fund programs teaching abstinence-until-marriage exclusively. Approximately $100 million, including matching state funds, is spent annually on state programs that have as their "exclusive purpose, teaching the social, psychological, and health gains to be realized by abstaining from sexual activity."
Congress is poised to re-authorize funding for abstinence-only education, and a similar trend is also apparent at the state level, where legislatures are copying the federal abstinence-only statute, often adding explicit prior-restraint provisions. A recent proposal in New Jersey, for instance, would impose close surveillance on teaching materials?and teachers. Even if they don't pass, these bills have a censorial and chilling effect. Utah's governor vetoed a similar bill in that state, but directed state agencies to monitor sex-ed programs for "inappropriate" language and subject matter.
Here are a few examples of the problems created by the abstinence-only approach to sex "education":
- Public funds go to religious institutions for anti-sex education. In Montana, the Catholic diocese of Helena received $14,000 from the state's Department of Health & Human Services for classes in the "Assets for Abstinence." In Louisiana, a network of pastors is bringing the abstinence-only message to religious congregations with public funds, and the Governor's Program on Abstinence is appointing regional coordinators and other staff members from such religious organizations as the Baptist Collegiate Ministries, Rapides Station Community Ministries, Diocese of Lafayette, Revolution Ministries, Caring to Love Ministries, All Saints Crusade Foundation, Concerned Christian Women of Livingston, Catholic Charities, Christian Counseling Center, and Community Christian Concern. (2)
- Public schools host "chastity" events. In California, Pennsylvania, Alabama, and many other states, schools regularly host chastity pledges and rallies on school premises during school hours. During these rituals, students often pledge "to God" that they will remain abstinent until they marry. (3)
- Textbooks are censored. The school board in Franklin County, North Carolina, ordered three chapters literally sliced out of a ninth-grade health textbook because the material did not adhere to state law mandating abstinence-only education. The chapters covered AIDS and other STDs, marriage and partnering, and contraception. In Lynchburg, Virginia, school board members refused to approve a high-school science textbook unless an illustration of a vagina was covered or cut out. (4)
- Crucial health programs are canceled. In response to a petition from 28 parents, a highly regarded comprehensive AIDS-prevention presentation for high-school students in the Syracuse, New York, area, given by the local AIDS Task Force, was canceled for future students. In Illinois, critics blasted Centers for Disease Control program, called "Reducing the Risk," because they claim it is inconsistent with an abstinence-only message.(5)
- Sex-ed teachers are disciplined for doing their jobs. In Belton, Missouri, a seventh-grade health teacher was suspended when a parent complained that she had discussed "inappropriate"sexual matters in class. The teacher had answered a student's query about oral sex. In Orlando, Florida, a teacher was suspended when he showed a student-made videotape called Condom Man and his K-Y Commandos, about preventing AIDS transmission. (6)
- Teachers are threatened with lawsuits; student journalists intimidated. In Granite Bay, California, an article in the student paper prompted charges that a sex-ed teacher engaged in "sexual misconduct"and threats of a lawsuit against the teacher and the paper's faculty adviser. The article took the position that newly mandated abstinence-only education was doing nothing to stop either sexual activity or widespread sexual ignorance among students. In Santa Clarita, California, a high school principal censored the student paper from printing an article entitled "Sex: Raw and Uncensored." The article was actually about the benefits of abstinence and methods of safe sex. (7)
- Students suffer from ignorance. Comprehensive sex education is becoming the exception rather than the rule; as a result, more students lack basic information. In Granite Bay, one student asked where his cervix was, and another inquired if she could become pregnant from oral sex. Students in New York City protested that the increased focus on abstinence-only has curtailed access to education about HIV/AIDS. The Colorado Council of Black Nurses decided to return $16,000 in abstinence-only funding, because the program "was just too restrictive. It did not teach responsible sexual behavior." (8)
Abstinence-Only Education: Facts
- Over a five-year period ending in 2002, approximately $500 million in federal and state matching funds will have been spent on abstinence-only education. Because of the requirement that states match federal funds for abstinence-only programs, state dollars that previously supported comprehensive sexuality education—which includes but is not limited to abstinence-education—have been diverted to abstinence-only programs. (9)
- The vast majority of American parents support comprehensive sex education. According to a recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, most parents want their children to receive a variety of information on subjects including contraception and condom use, sexually transmitted disease, sexual orientation, safer-sex practices, abortion, communications and coping skills, and the emotional aspects of sexual relationships. Given the choice, only 1% to 5% of parents remove their children from comprehensive sex education courses. (10)
- Fewer than half of public schools in the U.S. now offer information on how to obtain birth control, and only a third include discussion of abortion and sexual orientation in their curricula. A large nationally representative survey of middle- and high-school teachers published in Family Planning Perspectives reported that 23% of teachers in 1999 taught abstinence as the only means of STD and pregnancy prevention, compared with 2% in 1988. The study's authors attributed the change to the heavy promotion of abstinence?not sound educational principles. (11)
- Abstinence-only sex education doesn't work. There is little evidence that teens who participate in abstinence-only programs abstain from intercourse longer than others. When they do become sexually active, though, they often fail to use condoms or other contraceptives. Meanwhile, students in comprehensive sex education classes do not engage in sexual activity more often or earlier, but do use contraception and practice safer-sex more consistently when they become sexually active. (12)
- The U.S. has the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the developed world, and American adolescents are contracting HIV faster than almost any other demographic group. The teen pregnancy rate in the U.S. is at least twice that in Canada, England, France, and Sweden, and 10 times that in the Netherlands. Experts cite restrictions on teens' access to comprehensive sexuality education, contraception, and condoms in the U.S., along with the widespread American attitude that a healthy adolescence should exclude sex. By contrast, the "European approach to teenage sexual activity, expressed in the form of widespread provision of confidential and accessible contraceptive services to adolescents, is...a central factor in explaining the more rapid declines in teenage childbearing in northern and western European countries." (13)
- Every reputable sex?ed organization in the U.S., as well as prominent health organizations including the American Medical Association, have denounced abstinence-only sex ed. And a 1997 consensus statement from the National Institutes of Health concluded that legislation discouraging condom use on the ground that condoms are ineffective "places policy in direct conflict with science because it ignores overwhelming evidence ... . Abstinence-only programs cannot be justified in the face of effective programs and given the fact that we face an international emergency in the AIDS epidemic." (14)
Notes:
(1) Marjorie Heins, Not in Front of the Children: "Indecency," Censorship, and the Innocence of Youth (Chapter 6, "The Ideological Minefield: Sexuality Education") (NY: Hill and Wang)(forthcoming 2001); Diana Jean Schemo, "Sex Education With Just One Lesson: No Sex," New York Times, 12/28/00; Priscilla Pardini, "Federal Law Mandates ?Abstinence-Only Sex Ed: Fundamentalists Successfully Pushed Stealth Legislation," Rethinking Schools, Summer 1998; Jodie Levin-Epstein, "Fact Sheet: ?Abstinence unless Married' Education," Center for Law and Social Policy, Nov. 1998 (www.clasp.org/pubs/abstinenceunlessmarried.htm). See also Arthur Allen, "Does 'Safe Sex' Really Exist?" Salon, 7/21/00 www.salon.com/health/feature/2000/07/21/safe_sex/index.html); Arthur Allen, "Foil-Wrapped Folly," Salon, 7/24/00 (www.salon.com/health/feature/2000/07/24/condom/index. html), Sharon Lerner, "Just Say No To Sex; Just Say Yes To Big Bucks," Salon, 9/23/99 (www.salon.com/health/feature/1999/09/23/abstinence/index.html).
(2) "Diocese Will Lead Classes on Abstinence," Helena Independent Record (Mont.), 1/15/00; "Abstinence Program's 'Project Reality' Training is May 6," Bayou Catholic Shriever (La.), 5/4/00; additional information on practices in Louisiana provided by the ACLU of Louisiana.
(3) "Valentine's Day Kick Off True Love Waits Campaign," Mercury Register (Orville, Cal.), 1/26/00; M. Neill, "544 High School Students Make Promise of Abstinence," The Times (Cullman, Ala.), 2/18/00; J. Gish, "No Sex, Please, We're Teens," Evening Sun (Hanover, Pa.), 2/7/00; H. Todd, "Abstinence Workshop Insertion Criticized," Herald Zeitung (New Braunfels, Tex.), 8/8/99.
(4) Martha Quillen, "Franklin Schools Slice Sex-Ed Chapters Out of Health Books," The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) 9/25/97; "Lynchburg School Board Will Censor Illustration in Anatomy Textbook," Associated Press, 9/6/00 (AP-ES-09-06-00 1233EDT).
(5) Jon Craig, "Parents' Objections Cancel AIDS Program," Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY), 10/11/97; "Group Calls for Halt on HIV/AIDS Program Due to Explicit Material," News Leader (Rochelle, Ill.), 10/1/00.
(6) Russ Pulley and Robert Carroll, "Discussion in Health Class Draws Parental Complaint," Kansas City Star, 2/22/98; "Belton Teacher Placed on Leave," Star-Herald (Belton, Mo.), 2/26/98; Mike Berry, "Condom Video Gets High School Teacher Suspended," Orlando Sentinel, 2/11/99.
(7) Reynolds Holding, "Student's Sex Article Prompts Sad Legal Lesson," San Francisco Chronicle, 7/2/00 (www.sfgate.com/cgi-b...chronicle/archive/2000/07/02/SC48676.DTL); "Feature Up in Smoke When Principal Axes Sex Stories," Student Press Law Center Report, Winter 1999-2000, p. 20.
(8) Holding, supra n. 7; Jill Grossman, "Students Fight for Sex Education," The Westsider (Mar. 19 - 25, 1998); "Nurses Drop ?Crazy' Sex-Ed Program," Rocky Mountain News (Denver, Colo.), 3/18/99. For an assessment of teen's knowledge about sexuality, see Michael Carrera, et al., "Knowledge about Reproduction, Contraception, and Sexually Transmitted Infections among Young Adolescents in American Cities," Social Policy, Spring 2000.
(9) Diana Jean Schemo, "Sex Education With Just One Lesson: No Sex," New York Times, 12/28/00, A1.
(10) Kaiser Family Foundation, Sex Education in America: A View from Inside the Nation's Classrooms (Menlo Park, CA: The Kaiser Family Foundation, 2000); "Fact Sheet: Public Support for Sexuality Education," SIECUS Report, June/July 2000; Douglas Kirby, "Sexuality and Sex Education at Home and School," Adolescent Medicine: State of the Art Reviews 10 (2), 195-209, June 1999 (Philadelphia: Hanley & Belfus, Inc.)
(11) Jodi Wilgoren, "Abstinence is Focus of U.S. Sex Education," New York Times, 12/15/99; American Medical News, 1/17/00 (www.ama-assn.org/sci-pubs/amnews/pick_00/hlsa0117.htm); J. E. Darroch, et al., "Changing Emphases in Sexuality Education in U.S. Secondary Public Schools, 1988 - 1999," Family Planning Perspectives, vol. 32, no. 5, pp. 204-11, 265 (Sept./Oct. 2000).
(12) Douglas Kirby, "Effective Approaches to Reducing Adolescent Unprotected Sex, Pregnancy, and Childbearing," Report to the Surgeon General, July 2000; Douglas Kirby, "Sexuality and Sex Education at Home and School," Adolescent Medicine: State of the Art Reviews, 10 (2), 195-209, June 1999 (Philadelphia: Hanley & Belfus, Inc.); John B. Jemmott, et al., "Abstinence and Safer Sex HIV Risk-Reduction Interventions for African-American Adolescents, A Randomized Trial" JAMA, 279(19), 1529-1536 (1998); National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, "Teens in Crisis: A Comprehensive Strategy to Protect Adolescent Health," May 1998 (www.naral.org/mediaresources/fact/teens_crisis.html); Lisa Rabasca, "Not Enough Evidence to Support 'Abstinence-Only,'" APA Monitor, 30 (11), Dec. 1999.
(13) Alan Guttmacher Institute (2/24/00) "United States and the Russian Federation Lead the Developed World in Teenage Pregnancies," summarizing Suseela Singh and Jacqueline E. Darroch, "Adolescent Pregnancy and Childbearing: Levels and Trends in Developed Countries," Family Planning Perspectives (Jan./Feb. 2000). See also Ammie Feijoo and Sue Alford, "Adolescent Sexual Health in Europe and the U.S.—Why the Difference?" Transitions 11 (3), March 2000; Anke A Ehrhardt, "Editorial: Our View of Adolescent Sexuality—A Focus on Risk Behavior Without the Developmental Context," Am. J. Pub. Health, 86 (11), 1523-1525, Nov. 1996.
(14) National Institutes of Health, NIH Consensus Statement, Interventions to Prevent HIV Risk Behaviors, Vol. 15, No. 2, Feb.11 - 13, 1997, pp. 15 - 16.
Selected Bibliography
Allen, Arthur. "Does 'Safe Sex' Really Exist?" Salon (July 21, 2000) (www.salon.com/health/feature/2000/07/21/safe_sex/index.html)
Allen, Arthur. "Foil-Wrapped Folly," Salon (July 24, 2000) (www.salon.com/health/feature/2000/07/24/condom/index.html).
Carrera, Michael , et al. "Knowledge about Reproduction, Contraception, and Sexually Transmitted Infections among Young Adolescents in American Cities," Social Policy (Spring 2000).
Heins, Marjorie. Not in Front of the Children: "Indecency," Censorship, and the Innocence of Youth (NY: Hill and Wang) (forthcoming, 2001)
Interventions to Prevent HIV Risk Behaviors. NIH Consensus Statement, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Feb. 11- 13, 1997).
Kirby, Douglas. "Sexuality and Sex Education at Home and School," Adolescent Medicine: State of the Art Reviews 10 (2), 195-209, June 1999 (Philadelphia: Hanley & Belfus, Inc.)
Lerner, Sharon. "Just Say No To Sex; Just Say Yes To Big Bucks," Salon (Sept. 23, 1999) (www.salon.com/health/feature/1999/09/23/abstinence/index.html).
Levin-Epstein, Jodie. "Fact Sheet: 'Abstinence unless Married' Education," Center for Law and Social Policy (www.clasp.org/pubs/abstinenceunlessmarried.htm).
Pardini, Priscilla. "Federal Law Mandates 'Abstinence-Only' Sex Ed: Fundamentalists Successfully Pushed Stealth Legislation," Rethinking Schools (Summer 1998).
Schemo, Diana Jean. "Sex Education With Just One Lesson: No Sex," New York Times, Dec. 28, 2000, A1.
Sexuality Education and Information Council of the United States, "Fact Sheet: Public Support for Sexuality Education," SIECUS Report, June/July 2000.
For More Information
The following organizations can provide more information about abstinence education and comprehensive sexuality education.
Advocates
for Youth
www.advocatesforyouth.org
1025 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Suite 200
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 202/347-5700; fax: 202/347-2263; e-mail: info@advocatesforyouth.org
The
Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI)
www.agi-usa.org
120 Wall Street
New York, NY 10005
Phone: 212/248-1111; fax: 212/248-1951; e-mail: info@agi.usa.org
American
School Health Association (ASHA)
www.ashaweb.org
7263 State Road 43 P.O. Box 708
Kent, OH 44240
Phone: 330/678-1601; fax: 330/678-4526; e-mail: asha@ashaweb.org
Center
for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
www.clasp.org
1616 P Street, N.W., Suite 150
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202/328-5140; fax: 202/328-5195; e-mail: clasp@clasp.org
Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
www.cdc.gov
1600 Clifton Road
Atlanta, GA 30333
Phone: 800/311-3435; fax: 770/488/3110
ETR
Associates
www.etr.org
P.O. Box 1830
Santa Cruz, CA 95061-1830
Phone: 800/321-4407; fax: 800/435-8433; e-mail: etr@etrassociates.org
Institute
of Medicine
www.iom.edu
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20418
Phone: 202/334-3300; e-mail: iom_hpdp@nas.edu
Kaiser
Family Foundation
www.kff.org
2400 Sand Hill Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Phone: 650/854-9400; fax: 650/854-4800; e-mail: kff@kff.org
National
Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL)
www.naral.org
1156 15th Street, N.W., Suite 700
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 202/973-3000; fax: 202/973-3096; e-mail: naral@naral.org
National
Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
www.teenpregnancy.org
1776 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Suite 200
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202/478-8500; fax: 202/478-8588; e-mail: teenpregnancy@teenpregnancy.org
Planned
Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA)
www.plannedparenthood.org
810 Seventh Avenue
New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212/541-7800; 800/230-PLAN; fax: 212/245-1845; e-mail:
communications@ppfa.org
Sexuality
Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)
www.siecus.org
130 West 42nd Street, Suite 350
New York, NY 10036-7802
Phone: 212/819-9770; fax: 212/819-9776; e-mail: siecus@siecus.org
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