In South Carolina reproductive health education is defined as “instruction in human physiology, conception, prenatal care and development, childbirth, and postnatal care, but does not include instruction concerning sexual practices outside of marriage or practices unrelated to reproduction except within the context of the risk of disease. ABSTINANCE AND THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH SEXUAL ACTIVITY OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE MUST BE STRONGLY EMPHASIZED.”
These statements show South Carolina’s commitment to promote an abstinence-based curriculum and neglect any other form of prevention methods. With teen pregnancy and STI infection rates as high as they are in South Carolina, this is a policy that must be changed.
Abstinence-only programs provide only a fraction of the information young people need in order to keep themselves healthy. A 2007 study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of national abstinence-only programs found that students in abstinence-only programs began sexual experience at the same age as those not enrolled, and that these programs did not increase the rate of sexual abstinence.
A separate 2007 study released by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy declared that, “studies of abstinence programs have not produced sufficient evidence to justify their widespread dissemination.” This same study found that “there does not exist any strong evidence that any abstinence program delays the initiation of sex, hastens the return to abstinence, or reduces the number of sexual partners.” In fact, abstinence-only programs have been found to negatively impact you people’s sexual health and well-being. Students who participate in “virginity pledges” were over 30% less likely to use contraception when they became sexually active, and had higher rates of STIs.
Comprehensive sex education programs provide students with the ability to make informed decisions and better prepare themselves. According to a joint 2007 study by Columbia University and the Guttmacher Institute, “approximately 86% of the decline in teenage pregnancy in this country between 1995 and 2002 was due to dramatic improvements in contraceptive use, including increases in the use of individual methods, increases in the use of multiple methods, and substantial declines in nonuse.” Numerous studies have shown that instances of protected sex increase when teens are educated about and have access to condoms. The 2007 study from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy found that “Two-thirds of the 48 comprehensive programs that supported both abstinence and the use of condoms and contraceptives for sexually active teens had positive behavioral effects” including increasing contraception use and delaying or reducing sexual activity. “None of the comprehensive programs hastened the initiation of sex or increased the frequency of sex.”
Many of the leading professional medical groups support the teaching of comprehensive sex education, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Society of Adolescent Medicine, and the American Public Health Association. Over 80% of Americans polled, including Democrats, Republicans and Independents, support comprehensive sex education, according to a 2006 study.
It is clear that comprehensive sex education programs in conjunction with abstinence programs designed to delay the onset of sexual activity provide the proper basis for our young people. These programs should be embraced by our schools and policy makers and will bring South Carolina one step closer to reducing the number of teen and unplanned pregnancies and STI rates.
Tags: Ab-Only, Comprehensive Sex Ed, Emma Davidson, Sexual Health, Unintended Pregnancy
The Virtual March, is such an exciting opportunity unite people around comprehensive, medically accruate, sexual health information in schools! Please March with us and get involved!