Opinion: The value of sex education

The Bush administration is proposing to throw more money at abstinence-only sex education. In the budget President Bush intends to send to Congress, he is proposing a 33-percent increase in spending for sexual-abstinence education programs, which would bring the total funding of these programs to $135-million per year. The decision is a political move to appease religious conservatives, but it will have real consequences. Programs that accept these funds are barred from discussing contraception even for the purpose of preventing sexually transmitted diseases. That means some teens may be missing out on a life-saving lesson.

Abstinence-only education is the choice of those who believe comprehensive sex education -- a curriculum that combines an abstinence message with a fuller discussion of human sexuality, pregnancy and disease prevention -- encourages sexual activity in teens. However, studies suggest otherwise. According to a May 2001 report by Dr. Douglas Kirby, extensive research shows that sex and HIV education programs "do not hasten the onset of sex, increase the frequency of sex, nor increase the number of sexual partners." In fact, independent studies have found just the opposite, that certain comprehensive sex education programs actually serve to delay the onset of intercourse and increase the use of condoms and other forms of contraception when teens do engage in sexual activity.

Americans don't need the results of studies to know that age-appropriate sex education is extremely valuable. Eighty-five percent of Americans have told pollsters hired by the Kaiser Family Foundation that they support sex education in school, and 90 percent have said high school sex education classes should discuss how to use a condom as protection against HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. An overwhelming majority of Americans understand how vital it is for our young people to have this information for their health and safety.

Too bad the president isn't one of them.

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