Transcript The Fayetteville Freethinkers

The Fayetteville Freethinkers
• free-think-er n.
A person who forms opinions about religion
on the basis of reason, independently of
tradition, authority, or established belief.
Webster's New World Dictionary -- Third College Edition
A Consideration of
Abstinence-Only Sex “Education”
Why It Matters:
“Abstinence-only programs are
one of the religious right's
greatest challenges to the nation's
sexual health.”
--Planned Parenthood article on abstinence
tinyurl.com/2ftkrf
It is estimated that only five percent of America’s
school children are taught comprehensive
sexuality education — and only 10 percent of all
American school districts have a sexuality education
policy that is comprehensive — including
contraception and safer sex in addition to abstinence
(Guttmacher Institute, 1999; SIECUS, 1997; SIECUS, 2004).
• 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.
Public funds go to religious institutions for antisexuality programs.
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… 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 ("Abstinence Program's...,"
2000;"Diocese Will...," 2000).
Abstinence in churches?
Public schools host "chastity"
events.
Schools regularly host chastity pledges and
rallies on school premises during school
hours. During these rituals, students are
encouraged to pledge "to God" that they will
remain abstinent until they marry
(Gish, 2000; Neill, 2000; Todd,1999; "Valentine's Day...," 2000)
Textbooks are censored.
• In Texas, the State Board of Education approved
the purchase of new health textbooks that
exclusively promote abstinence.
• The school board in Franklin County, North
Carolina, ordered three chapters literally sliced out
of a ninth grade health textbook…
• 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. (Associated Press, 2000; Elliott, 2004; Gold, 2004; Quillen, 1997).
Crucial, science based health programs are
canceled because they conflict with
Ab/only requirements.
Result:
Students suffer from ignorance.
Comprehensive, medically accurate sexuality
education is not given; as a result, more students
lack basic information.
In 2004, Rep. Henry Waxman (D— CA),
released a report on abstinence-only programs.
The report found that the curricula used by more
than two-thirds of government-funded abstinenceonly programs contain misleading or inaccurate
information about abortion, contraception,
genetics, and sexually transmitted infections.
tinyurl.com/2ftkrf
The Misinformation:
“There are always risks associated with it
[premarital sex], even dangerous, lifethreatening risks such as HIV/AIDS.
Using contraceptives does not change
this for teenagers.”
FACTS Middle School, Student Handbook, p. 50
Claim: “At the least, the chances of getting pregnant with
a condom are 1 out of 6.” --Me, My World, My Future
(When used consistently and correctly, condoms are 98
percent effective in preventing pregnancy.) Robert Hatcher, et al,
Contraceptive Technology , 17th revised edition (New York: Irvington Publishers, Inc., 1998), 328-329; “Condoms Get Better,”
Consumer Reports , June 1999, 46.
Claim: “Condoms provide no proven reduction in
protection against Chlamydia, the most common bacterial
STD.” --Choosing the Best PATH , Leader Guide, p. 18
(According
to the CDC, when used consistently and
correctly, condoms reduce the risk of STDs, including
Chlamydia.)
• Choosing the Best, The Big Talk Book states,
"[R]esearch confirms that 14 percent of the
women who use condoms scrupulously for
birth control become pregnant within a year."
In fact, when used correctly and consistently, only two
percent of couples who rely on the latex condom as
their primary form of contraception will experience an
unintended pregnancy
(Hatcher et al., 2004).
“The vast majority of Americans and parents
support comprehensive, medically accurate
sexuality education. Eighty-one percent of
Americans and seventy-five percent of parents
want their children to receive a variety of
information on subjects including contraception
and condom use…”
tinyurl.com/2ftkrf
Abstinence-only programs are required to teach
that all unmarried individuals should, and
actually do, remain celibate.
Actually:
The median age of first marriage is 27.1 for men
and 25.3 for women.
Fewer than 7 percent of men and 20 percent of
women ages 18–50 were virgins when they were
married.
The Really Big Study:
On April 13, 2007 the long awaited Mathematica
evaluation of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs
was finally published. This long term, scientific report,
requested by Congress found:
“…youth in the program group were no more
likely than control group youth to have abstained
from sex and, among those who reported having
had sex, they had similar numbers of sexual
partners and had initiated sex at the same mean
age.” -- Impacts of Four Title V, Section 510 Abstinence Education Programs
Texas' 2004 evaluation… Texas A&M University.
…the analysis revealed that the percentage of
students reporting having ever engaged in
sexual intercourse increased for nearly all
ages between 13 and 17.
Notably, prior to participating in an abstinence-only-untilmarriage program, 23% of ninth grade girls had engaged in sexual
intercourse. Following the program, 29% of the same age group
reported having engaged in sexual intercourse. In addition, tenth
grade boys reporting sexual intercourse increased from 24% to
39% following abstinence-only-until-marriage instruction.
One of the study's investigators said, “we didn't see any strong
indications these programs were having an impact in the
direction desired…
An independent study commissioned by the
Minnesota Department of Health found that
sexual activity doubled among junior high
school participants in the state's
Education Now and Babies Later (ENABL )
program at three schools between 2001 and
2002.
The Good News:
Comprehensive sexuality education does work.
Students in comprehensive sexuality 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
(Guttmacher Institute, 2002; Jemmott et al., 1998; Kirby, 1999; Kirby, 2000; NARAL, 1998).
The Bad News:
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.
California has declined federal abstinence-only money (Campbell,
2006). By teaching medically accurate, comprehensive sexuality
education California has seen declines in teen pregnancy similar to
those seen in European countries. Over the last decade, the teen
pregnancy rate in California has dropped more than 40 percent.
Every reputable sexuality education organization in the U.S.,
as well as prominent health organizations including the
American Medical Association, have denounced abstinenceonly sexuality programs.
Conclusion:
Fear mongering
and ignorance
doesn’t work.
Boozman cites:
In early May, a national poll showed nearly 80% of America’s parents think abstinence should be taught
over contraception in sex education classes. Additionally, 83% of those parents think their children
should wait to have sex until marriage."
http://blog.thehill.com/2007/06/06/dont-touch-abstinence-educationrep-john-boozman/
Boozman's source? Lies, of course:
"A little more research turns up interesting info. The Zogby "poll" that Boozman cites isn't
really a valid public opinion poll, but message-testing research from foes of sex education
and apparently created by the folks who brought us the Swift Boat ads. The questions are
shaped to produce desired results and thus reveal the best tactics for achieving those results.
Respondents are not ever asked whether they support ONLY abstinence-only education. They
are offered some emotional hot-button situations. This is a fair political strategy, to test
messages. But the results shouldn't be misrepresented by Boozman -- and the other rightwingers currently parroting them -- as scientific public opinion research."
http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2007/06/just_say_no.as
px#more
"I don´t fear
computers, I fear the
lack of them”
"When asked what I
would do if my doctor
told me I had only six
months to live, I
answered 'I'd type
faster.'"
"The most exciting
phrase to hear in
science, the one that
heralds new
discoveries, is not
Eureka! - but 'That's
funny...'
"What I want to be remembered for is no one book, or
no dozen books. Any single thing I have written can be
paralleled or even surpassed by something someone
else has done. However, my total corpus for quantity,
quality and variety can be duplicated by no one else.
That is what I want to be remembered for."
September 20, 1973, Yours, Isaac Asimov, page 329.