ADVOCATES FOR YOUTH

New Survey Confirms that Teens Need Comprehensive Sexuality Education

Complete Information Critical to Teen Pregnancy and Disease Prevention

WASHINGTON, DC (April 25, 2000) James Wagoner, President of Advocates for Youth, today calls a new survey by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy a "confirmation of what works in sexuality education for American young people."

"The National Campaign's public opinion poll of adults and teens reinforces what extensive research has already shown. Comprehensive sexuality education—education that provides information about both abstinence and contraception—is the most effective sex education for young people because it causes them to delay sexual activity and to use protection correctly and consistently when they do become sexually active," said Wagoner.

The American public is not alone in its support of comprehensive sexuality education. The American Medical Association (AMA), the American Nurses Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and more than 100 other medical and professional organizations all support comprehensive sexuality education. In fact, the AMA recently urged schools to "implement comprehensive, developmentally appropriate sexuality education programs" as part of an overall health education effort.

That is why the current Congressional trend of funding abstinence-only-until-marriage education—education that censors information about contraception for the prevention of unintended pregnancy, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted disease—causes Wagoner concern.

"Despite what the research shows, despite what teens say they need, and despite what the American public says it wants, Congress has allocated $440 million to abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. In fact, this month, President George W. Bush increased funding for these programs to $92 million per year," said Wagoner. "By supporting abstinence-only-until-marriage education, policymakers are threatening a decade's worth of progress."

"With 70% of the recent decline in teen pregnancy due to increased use of contraception and 30% due to fewer teens having sex, U.S. policymakers should take this opportunity to act as research and public opinion direct. The message is clear. Young people need information about abstinence and contraception. It's not either/or—they need both," concluded Wagoner.

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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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