ADVOCATES FOR YOUTH

Research Critical to Protecting Young People from Disease Blocked by Congress

Politicians Jeopardize Teens' Lives With Unrealistic and Dangerous Approaches to Sex Education

WASHINGTON, DC (December 19, 2000) Advocates for Youth President, James Wagoner, today calls on President-elect George W. Bush and the new Congress to "put science before politics and public health before personal agendas in developing policies that affect young people."

Citing the findings of a newly released report by the Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI) that discusses the "lack of solid, national data" on the number of adolescents engaging in oral sex, Wagoner accuses Congress of shirking its duty to a vulnerable population. "It's ironic that the very politicians charged with protecting American teens from sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) including HIV/AIDS have created policies that block two of the most effective methods of prevention—comprehensive sexuality education and scientific public health research," says Wagoner.

Advocates for Youth also calls on the new Congress to rescind the $250 million in federal funds allocated to abstinence-only-until-marriage programs and to redirect the funding to programs that are scientifically proven to reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS and other STDs.

Congress has repeatedly blocked federal funding for comprehensive sexuality studies that include questions about oral sex. Certain STDs, such as herpes simplex, gonorrhea, and chlamydia can be transmitted orally. "We're being kept in the dark. Congress doesn't want the researchers to obtain the data. We won't get anywhere with our heads stuck in the sand," says Wagoner.

"In addition, through its extreme abstinence-only-until-marriage policies, Congress censors life-saving health information, and then denies funding to scientific research that collects accurate data on behaviors and on the most effective sexuality education for young people," says Wagoner.

While abstinence-only-until-marriage education censors information about contraception for the prevention of HIV/AIDS and other STDs, comprehensive sexuality education provides young people with medically accurate, realistic information about both abstinence and contraception.

"The AGI report adds to the overwhelming evidence that programs that focus on the censorship and suppression of information are not only naive and unrealistic, but are also irresponsible and dangerous," says Wagoner. Earlier this year, the Office of National AIDS Policy expressed "grave concern" over abstinence-only-until-marriage programs and the Institute of Medicine called on Congress to rescind funding for these ineffective programs.

"How many reports must be released, how many young lives must be threatened, before politicians will support realistic sexuality education and scientific research into adolescent sexual behavior?" questioned Wagoner. "It is unacceptable for Congress to continue to fund programs that leading scientific and public health organizations have found to be ineffective and to refuse funding for research that is critical to preventing disease in American young people. The Bush Administration and the new Congress must act as the research directs and they must do it now," concludes Wagoner.

Advocates for Youth is a Washington, DC based national nonprofit organization that creates programs and supports policies that help young people make safe, responsible decisions about their sexual and reproductive health.

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Note to Editors and Producers: For more information or to set up an interview with adolescent sexuality experts, please contact Bill Barker at (202) 419-3420.

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