Virginia is for Lovers…

by Julia Kaye, Program Assistant
National Women's Law Center

… And thankfully, governors who feel that it is important to base state health policies on, y’know, facts. As a result of recent studies confirming that abstinence-only programs do not positively influence teen’s sexual behaviors, while — who would have guessed it!? — teaching students about condoms and birth control does prevent sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine has cut off state funding for abstinence-only programs. According to Kaine’s communications director, “The governor supports abstinence-based education, but the governor wants to see us funding programs that are evidence-based.” We agree — evidence is a good thing. Way to go, Governor Kaine!

Virginia is now the 14th state to decline federal matching funds for Title V abstinence-only programs. To receive Title V funds, states must require teachers to tell students that sex within marriage is “the expected standard of sexual activity” — which is both utterly unrealistic and, until gay marriage is a reality, casually denies all same-sex couples the right to have sex — and must bar teachers from discussing contraception except to mention its failure rates, thereby denying young women the knowledge and resources they need to protect themselves when they do decide to become sexually active.

Also of note: a vast majority of Americans support comprehensive sex education. A national opinion survey sponsored by the National Women’s Law Center and Planned Parenthood Federation of America found that 76 percent of voters wanted to see U.S. public schools teaching comprehensive sex education — including 83 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of Republicans, 76 percent of Independents, 78 percent of Catholics and 60 percent of evangelical Christians.

Luckily, Governor Kaine understands that inaccurate, irresponsible and discriminatory health education is not the right policy for his state. After all — Virginia is for lovers!

Comments

[Marissa Valeri]

You know, I pray too.

I pray for a time when all women, regardless of age, race or economic status, have equal access to contraceptives as well as comprehensive and medically accurate sexual education. I pray for a time in this country when public policy is no longer formed by reactionary conservative religious thought, and where the voices of the majority of people of faith, who overwhelmingly support comprehensive sexuality education, are lifted higher within public discourse.

Kudos to Governor Kaine for making the correct and responsible decision to reject state funding for abstinence-only education. Abstinence-only education is based upon fear and guilt, and geared toward making young people, especially young women, ashamed of their sexuality and ashamed of who they are - especially if they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered when the focus is on waiting until marriage. The core of abstinence-only education is an extremely un-Christlike message which neglects the teachings of inclusion, acceptance and, ultimately, love.

I'll be praying for "We'll be praying..." as they clearly have missed the message.

[Anonymous]

To "We'll be praying for you":

As can usually happen when we make decisions from a space of ideology, we tend to forget and/or misuse facts.

The reality is this: abstinence-only education does more harm than good. It miseducates young people about the effects of sex and sexuality, changes statistics and figures about contraceptive usage to discourage safer sex practices, and flat out lies about a variety of health concerns.

I would highly advise you to read Congressman Henry Waxman's report on ab-only policies in the United States. Among the misconceptions cited by Waxman's investigators:

• HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, can be spread via sweat and tears.

• Condoms fail to prevent HIV transmission as often as 31 percent of the time in heterosexual intercourse.

• One curriculum, called "Me, My World, My Future," teaches that women who have an abortion "are more prone to suicide" and that as many as 10 percent of them become sterile. This contradicts the 2001 edition of a standard obstetrics textbook that says fertility is not affected by elective abortion, the Waxman report said.

And what has all of this abstinence-only education yielded? I can in good faith report on one thing: in the reproductive health field, we have seen an actual surge in incidents of high-risk sexual behavior by teens and pre-teens, including anal sex without condoms (because they're told condoms don't work).

Let's face it: we're dealing with a PUBLIC HEALTH issue. You may find it in your best interest to use prayer and self-control to temper your libido, but that isn't everyone's wish. If young people are going to enter society as sexually active, I want to ensure they have everything they need to keep themselves healthy. We don't give young people licenses without teaching them about the importance of safety-belts because we recognize we have a societal obligation to keeping people healthy and safe. I appreciate the fact that you've worked out your own independent solution of "self-control" and "praying," but please do not believe for one second that your strategy can benefit everyone in this society because we all have different lives to lead.

I wish you luck in your endeavors, and have one question: if you and your peers are "praying for me," does this save me a trip to church?

To Ms. Kaye,
Thank you for an informative and entertaining blog post! Keep up the good work.

[Save Your Prayers]

In response to 'We'll be praying...' -

Another way to be "responsible" is to accurately quote research. It has NOT been proven that when contraceptives are available abortions increase.

As reported in 'Induced Abortion: Estimated Rates and Trends Worldwide' (Sedgh et al, The Lancet 2007) and 'Relationships Between Contraception and Abortion: A Review of the Evidence' (Marston & Cleland, Intl Fam Plnng Persp 2003):

"Rising contraceptive use results in reduced abortion incidence in settings where fertility itself is constant. The parallel rise in abortion and contraception in some countries occurs because increased contraceptive use alone was unable to meet the growing need for fertility regulation in situations where fertility was falling rapidly."

[We'll be praying for you]

It is truly sad to see women such as yourself make such comments. It is unfortunate that people actually think that giving children condoms and birth control is actually the "responsible" thing to do. In reality, you are only encouraging them to have sex. It has been proven that if you have more contraception available, the abortions increase. How do I know? Many people around our country know this thanks to the most recent Guttmacher Institute's study and you too can discover that there is a greater number of abortions where contraception is available. Look at the charts. Look at the graphs.

The only way to be "responsible" is to practice abstinence and work on self-control. Not everyone is "doing it" there is a great amount of teens and young adults who do practice abstinence.

Organizations like Planned Parenthood push sex and pornography on our teens and comments like these only encourages this behavior. You are not helping our young people, you are making this culture of death exist.