ADVOCATES FOR YOUTH

Republican National Convention Abstains from the Facts

Party Platform and Key Speakers Endorse Failed Abstinence-Only Programs; Former Miss Americas Hold Opposing Views on What Works to Protect Young People

WASHINGTON, DC (August 31, 2004)—The Republican Party yesterday endorsed increased funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in its platform, despite growing evidence that these programs fail to help teens delay sex or protect themselves from pregnancy and disease. As convention speakers turn today to discussion of domestic policy, former Miss America Erika Herald—an outspoken advocate of these efforts—may echo the Party's insistence on promoting an unproven approach to sex ed which censors information about the health benefits of condoms and other contraceptives.

But another former Miss America has a different perspective. "As a life-long Republican, a Catholic, and a 2000 Bush supporter, I am appalled that my party has discarded over two decades of research on effective health education in favor of ideology," said New York resident Kate Shindle, who, like Ms. Herald, is a former Miss America who has spent the years since her 1998 contest win advocating for HIV/AIDS education and funding. "This is about what works, not what we wished worked. Abstinence is a critical component of any responsible program, but so far abstinence-only-until-marriage programs have been only anecdotally successful."

"When it comes to sex education, the Republican Party has decided to abstain from the facts," said James Wagoner, President of Advocates for Youth. "Decades of peer-reviewed research show that teaching about both abstinence and contraception is the most effective way to protect young people. Comprehensive sex ed programs are proven to delay the onset of sexual activity, reduce the frequency of sexual activity, reduce the number of sexual partners, and increase condom and contraceptive use. At the same time, these programs do not encourage teens to become sexually active."

In short, responsible sex ed programs work! That's why our nation's most trusted medical and scientific institutions—including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Society for Adolescent Medicine, and the Institute of Medicine—all recommend that sexuality education include age-appropriate and medically accurate information about abstinence and contraception.

The Republican Party Platform position on education asserts "it's long past time to debate what works," and President Bush believes education policy must focus on "methods that work. Not feel-good methods, not sound-good methods." Advocates for Youth couldn't agree more. Science and research must be the paramount considerations when evaluating what we teach young people today, including our nation's approach to reducing teen pregnancy and preventing STDs, including HIV/AIDS. America's younger generations deserve the best we have to offer based on the most reliable evidence and expert advice available today.

Parents, too, are clear on what they want for their children. Polling consistently shows that 70% of adults oppose federal funding for education promoting abstinence-only-until-marriage education that prohibits information on contraception for the prevention of unintended pregnancy and disease. The same is true for high school students. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 88% of students felt schools need to teach all those in 9-12 grades all aspects of sexuality education—including birth control and safer sex.

As Ms. Shindle states, there is little evidence that the abstinence-only-until-marriage programs endorsed by the Republican Party Platform and praised by Ms. Harold even work. Since 1998, nearly a billion dollars in federal and state funding has been devoted to this unproven approach to sex education. And states are beginning to find a costly and dangerous negative return on this investment.

A recent evaluation of the Minnesota ENABL program, a 5-year, $5 million abstinence-only program reaching more than 45,000 junior high students, found that the rates of teen sexual activity actually increased, and that teens in this program were more likely to expect to have sex prior to marriage. Similarly, an evaluation of the Pennsylvania Abstinence Education and Related Services Initiative found that the initiative was "ineffective in reducing sexual onset and promoting attitudes and skills consistent with sexual abstinence." The report also found young people frustrated with the lack of information they received regarding contraception.

"Until the day that abstinence-only-until-marriage programs can be proven effective for every youth, information on sexual postponement must be supplemented by safer sex strategies," concluded Shindle. "Any other approach is negligent and dangerous."

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

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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