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Sali: Abstinence education works, helps teens avoid risky behavior
April 23, 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Abstinence education does work, Congressman Bill Sali said today, noting that studies prove such education helps teens avoid risky behavior. Sali issued his comments during a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Sali also said taxpayer money should not be spent to promote inappropriate teen behavior. Congressman Sali's statement follows:
Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member Davis,
I want to thank you for calling this important hearing on abstinence education. Abstinence education teaches that “abstinence from sexual activity outside marriage as the expected standard for all school age children,” and stresses the social, psychological, and health benefits of abstinence. In a study released just yesterday by the Heritage Foundation, 21 studies were analyzed and 16 reported positive findings concerning the effectiveness of abstinence education programs. I ask unanimous consent that this report be inserted into the Committee Report.
There are many reports that show abstinence education works, and in Idaho I have heard how abstinence programs are helping teens avoid risky behavior. Unfortunately, most Americans don't even know what teens are being taught in sex education classes, abstinence-based or otherwise. I hope that today’s hearing and the testimony of Dr. Stan Weed will help to highlight the value and nature of abstinence education programs.
Effective abstinence education teaches teens far more than to ‘just say no’ to sex. These programs offer a public health message that promotes risk-avoidance to young people. Unfortunately, most of America does not know that abstinence education does teach teens about contraception and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including symptoms and modes of transmission along with the relative effectiveness of contraception methods. However, abstinence education seeks to educate without engaging in the explicit demonstrations that most parents and school communities, especially those in my District, reject as distasteful and in some cases a violation of moral and religious convictions.
In addition, in abstinence education programs, teens are taught how to build healthy relationships while learning to identify the warning signs of unhealthy relationships which often lead to sexual coercion and abuse. These programs teach how to set goals for the future and how to avoid the dangers of alcohol and drugs, which frequently open the door to sexual activity.
Abstinence education is a complete approach to teaching teens about sexuality, and since Congress began funding Community Based Abstinence Education (CBAE), abstinence education has been credited for part of the decline in teen pregnancy. This is a positive and encouraging trend, but as we were reminded when the CDC released its recent report on teens and STDs, an unwanted pregnancy is not the only risk of teen sex. If government is going to spend money to teach youth about sex, teens deserve more than just the promotion and use of condoms.
I have read with shock about the manuals that are labeled “comprehensive” sex education, and was stunned to see that the CDC approved curriculum that encourage young people to shower together or cuddle naked, along with other behaviors I would frankly be embarrassed to discuss before this Committee. I would wager that everyone on this committee understands where showering together and cuddling naked will lead. No one in this room could honestly believe that those kinds of actions will promote abstinence. In fact, quite the opposite. Yet these activities are considered “abstinent” behavior in the most widely used “comprehensive” sex education curricula. Mr. Chairman, most of us on this Committee are parents. I would submit that none of us would want our daughters or sons to cuddle without clothing or perform other acts we would be ashamed to discuss publicly – yet these acts are commended in materials regularly distributed to public school children.
Such graphic messages cannot fairly be equated with effective abstinence education and simply do not belong in schools, and certainly not at the expense of taxpayers. Abstinence education offers a real alternative – one that is tested, practical and respects the beliefs and concerns of Moms and Dads across the country. Let’s give it a fair hearing and a healthy dose of support.
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