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Marcela Howell (202) 419-3420
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July 25, 2006 |
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U.S. Senate Again Rejects Comprehensive Sex Education
Statement from James Wagoner, President, Advocates for Youth
Today, fifty-one United States Senators turned their back on science. Today, fifty-one United States Senators told American families that sound, proven, science-based sex education is not for their teens. Today, fifty-one United States Senators told American families that they have no right to work with their schools to implement comprehensive sex education for their children.
In rejecting the Menendez-Lautenberg Amendment by a 48 to 51 vote, the conservative majority once again chose ideology over science. The Menendez-Lautenberg Amendment would have created a grant program to ensure America’s young people had access to responsible sex education - education that urges young people to delay sex but also provides medically accurate information about the health benefits of condoms and other forms of contraception.
The amendment would not have denigrated abstinence. In fact, the Menendez-Lautenberg amendment emphasized abstinence as the first lesson in truly comprehensive sex education programs. And unlike President Bush’s unproven abstinence-only-until-marriage policy, comprehensive sex education, as defined by the Menendez-Lautenberg amendment, is the only sex education policy supported by all the mainstream medical associations, including the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Nurses Association.
Research shows that programs that teach young people about abstinence and contraception demonstrate more success in delaying sexual activity among youth who have not had sex, and at improving contraceptive use among teens when they do become sexually active than programs that teach abstinence-only. The Menendez-Lautenberg amendment also created after-school programs to advance good decision-making skills, and expose teens to positive role models in supervised settings.
Responsible, comprehensive sex education also builds young people’s capacity for making decisions, resisting peer pressure, setting goals, managing stress, being responsible, understanding and accepting diversity, and building healthy relationships.
Responsibility is a two-way street. Young people need to safeguard their own sexual health and the health of others. But society owes young people the tools of responsibility – accurate information, confidential health services, and a secure stake in the future. With the Menendez-Lautenberg amendment, we had an opportunity. Had – until fifty-one senators said “No."
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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.
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