CTB Commentary

Response To Specific Waxman Criticisms

The following is a point-by-point response to specific criticisms about Choosing the Best contained in the report issued by Representative Henry A. Waxman (D-CA) titled “The Content of Federally Funded Abstinence-Only Education programs.” This report discussed the top 13 most popular abstinence programs among federal SPRANS grant recipients, which included Choosing the Best. Waxman is a long-standing, aggressive opponent of abstinence sex education and his specific criticisms about Choosing the Best were either inaccurate, taken out of context, or trivial. Each of these criticisms is stated below, along with a detailed response.

• Waxman criticizes text from the Choosing the Best parent book, p.39, which states: “When used by real people in real-life situations, research confirms that 14% of women who use condoms scrupulously for birth control become pregnant within one year”, saying that the word “scrupulously” could be misunderstood to mean “consistently and correctly,” in which case a two to three percent failure rate would apply.

Response:

In the referenced sentence, the word “scrupulously” was intended to mean “exclusively, devotedly” [see Webster] as a means of birth control, rather than to imply consistently and correctly. Waxman completely ignores the text preceding the “scrupulous” sentence which clarifies the issue of condom effectiveness. The full text reads as follows:

“Under lab conditions, condoms fail two percent of the time. That’s with condoms hooked up to machines in a controlled environment. When used by real people in real-life situations, research confirms that 14% of women who use condoms scrupulously for birth control become pregnant within one year.”

Given the context that Waxman purposely omitted, it is very clear that with consistent and correct use, the condom failure rate is 2-3%.

• Waxman criticizes text from the Choosing the Best WAY leader guide, p.33, which states and sources that the published failure rate of couples using condoms for birth control is 14%. Waxman criticizes that this statement does not explicitly state that 14% is an annual failure rate versus a per act failure rate. He also suggests Choosing the Best does not make it clear that much of the condom failure rate is “user failure rate.”

Response:

Condom failure rates are always assumed annual rates, without stating them as such. The surrounding text further clarifies. The complete text reads “Couples who use condoms to avoid a pregnancy have a failure rate of 15%. Over four years the failure rate is over 50%.” Regarding “user failure rates”, Waxman fails to mention that later in the curricula sequence (Choosing the Best LIFE); an entire page is devoted to the topic of user failure rates of condoms and other common contraceptive methods.

• Referencing the Choosing the Best LIFE Leader Guide, p. 7, Choosing the Best states, “Generally, guys are able to focus better on one activity at a time and may not connect feelings with actions. Girls access both sides of the brain at once, so they often experience feelings and emotions as part of every situation.” Waxman cited this as an example that abstinence education “stereotypes girls and boys” and “depicts girls as being unable to focus”.

Response:

This criticism clearly takes Choosing the Best material out of context. Waxman does not explain that this statement was made in the context of intimate relationships, specifically the topic “How guys and girls can view sex differently”, addresses statements made on a video about these differences by real-life teens themselves and is based upon a published scientific study showing girls have more connective tissue between the left and right sides of their brains than guys.

• Waxman criticizes a story about a “prince and princess” from Choosing the Best SOUL MATE, p.51, citing this as an example of stereotyping girls as “needing protection”.

Response:

This is yet another example of material being taken out of context. This story is a humorous adaptation from “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus”, appears in the appendix as a teacher supplement and is designed to illustrate the differences in communication style between men and women. In addition to missing the point of the story, Waxman fails to mention that this program is for older teens, deals with “Making Marriage Work” and presents widely accepted, mainstream relational principles that encourage the development of listening and appreciation skills in a marriage relationship.

• Waxman criticizes text from p. 33 of the Choosing the Best WAY Leader Guide which states that condoms have not been proven effective against HPV. He states that the CDC has released evidence that condoms do reduce the risk of cervical cancer itself and criticizes that Choosing the Best does not mention this. He also criticizes that CTB fails to mention the importance of pap smears.

Response:

The statement that condoms do not prevent against HPV was quoted from a reputable source, the National Institutes for Health. The full text states:

“While condoms have proven to be effective in reducing the risk of getting two STDs—HIV and gonorrhea—condoms have not been proven effective in protecting against other STDs, including the most common STDs—chlamydia, HPV, and genital herpes.”

The context of this information was specific to the sexual transmission of HPV, not risk reduction related to HPV associated diseases such as cervical neoplasia in women. The statements made in Choosing the Best are medically accurate. CTB regularly revises all materials to include the latest information. Now that new information exists (released Jan 2004) regarding the effectiveness of condoms in reducing the risk of cervical cancer, the issue can be further clarified.

• Waxman criticizes that on p. 19 of the Choosing the Best PATH Leader Guide, we overstate the mental health benefits of abstinence because our answer in the Leader Guide states that “all” of the health problems listed in the chart (the chart contains various physical and mental health problems) could be eliminated via abstinence when in fact, only some of them can.

Response:

This is a legitimate error that was overlooked in the editing process. The word “all” will be removed from all future Leader Guides shipped, effective immediately. It is important to note that Waxman reviewed over 400 pages of text across all of our programs and found only one word that was in error. This error was only contained in the Leader Guide and not in the Student Manuals.

For more information, please call Marcia Papst at 1-800-774-2378.