Condom knowledge

Last week the nonpartisan research firm Mathematica released the findings of a nine-year scientific study of abstinence-only sex education programs under Congressional order.. The findings? The programs, in most cases, don’t work (surprise, surprise).\nAccording to the study of more than 2,000 students, those enrolled in the courses were equally as likely as their counterparts to have had sex, and the age at which intercourse first occurred was identical among the groups.\nThe only positive outcome that the programs seem to have produced is a knowledge of identifying sexually transmitted infections. But I would guess that simply being able to pick out of a list the names of the infections that are sexually transmitted doesn’t do much for teens if they don’t know the symptoms or long-term consequences of contracting STIs. This is especially true considering that one-quarter of sexually active adolescents nationwide have an STI, according to the survey, many of which are incurable.\nThe “education” programs have also been effective in promoting false insecurities about the effectiveness of condoms. Nearly 25 percents of the youths surveyed said they believed that condoms were never effective in preventing HIV transmission, and 20 percent said they were never effective in preventing the transmission of chlamydia and gonorrhea.\nThe federal government spends about $176 million a year to promote abstinence until marriage. President Bush recently requested $191 million (a $28 million increase) from Congress to fund the abstinence program in the next fiscal year. And all this money for what? To teach kids the social agenda of the administration and ignore reality?\nThe good news is that more states are beginning to realize these abstinence-focused programs aren’t in the best interests of their children and teens. Last year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a document reminding states that to receive federal funds, their programs could not promote the use of condoms or contraceptives or even “refer to abstinence as a form of contraception.” So several states decided they would rather do without the federal funds than be forced to adhere to such strict guidelines. Recently, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland announced the state would no longer accept federal money to fund its sex-education program, making it the seventh state to do so. \nConsider the numbers: The United States has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the Western world. Though it’s down to 75.4 out of every 1,000 in 2002 from 106.7 in 1986, it’s still a far cry from the rates of France (20.2), Germany (16.1), Spain (12.3) and Italy (12.0). Teens aged 15 to 19 accounted for 831,000 pregnancies in 2005. Nearly half of sexually active high school seniors reported not using a condom during their last sexual encounter. And about half of the 19 million new STI cases in 2000 were reported in young people ages 15 to 24.\nWe owe it to the future generations to ensure that teens are provided with accurate and thorough information on a topic that will affect them for the rest of their lives.