Articles

OPINION

Teens' abstinence from sex rarely 'backfires'

By BRUCE COOK
Published on: 04/17/05 in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The April 13 editorial "Abstinence-only talk can backfire" about Choosing the Best abstinence curricula was filled with inaccuracies that are a disservice to readers and represent bias against abstinence education.

Choosing the Best does educate about contraceptives, contrary to what the editorial reported. We don't, however, advocate or demonstrate their use. Contraception methods are presented with data about failure rates with respect to pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

The program shows, for example, that while condoms can reduce the risk of certain sexually transmitted diseases if used consistently and correctly, they don't protect against HPV, the most common viral STD, which can cause cervical cancer.

Choosing the Best helps teenagers understand the truth about contraceptives: at best they can only reduce certain physical risks; the idea of "safe sex" is a myth; and abstinence is the only way to eliminate physical and emotional risks associated with premarital sex.

It's also inaccurate to say "repeated" studies have found that abstinence programs are ineffective. A recent federally funded study on Choosing the Best, submitted this month for peer review and publication, shows significant positive results.

In this study, 7th-, 8th- and 9th-grade students in a south metro Atlanta school district received either Choosing the Best or the regular health textbook material. After 12 months, students receiving Choosing the Best showed a statistically significant 47 percent reduction in the initiation of sexual intercourse vs. students in the comparison group.

Although it's unfortunate that a small band of DeKalb parents have deprived students, parents and teachers of the benefits of Choosing the Best, the material has been well received by school districts throughout Georgia.

Not only does our program meet state requirements, but it promotes parental involvement, relationship and character development and refusal skill training in more than 100 Georgia school districts.

I also question the editorial board's use of flawed and incomplete studies that support the notion that abstinence education doesn't work. Notwithstanding, it is deceptive to suggest the results of the referenced studies are an indicator of Choosing the Best's results.

The authors of the Texas A&M study, cited in your editorial, confessed that no control group was used and sample groups were self-selected, not randomly selected, thereby eliminating the study's conclusions from serious consideration.

Additionally, the April study on the effect of virginity pledges distorted the original findings by including "inconsistent pledgers" — those who pledged in a survey and later indicated they didn't. The original study showed that teens who made virginity pledges — "consistent pledgers" — were one-third less likely to contract an STD, waited longer to engage in sex, had fewer sexual partners and were less likely to experience a teen birth than non-pledgers.

If The Atlanta Journal-Constitution agrees that parents do not want their 16-year-olds having sex, then why does it support programs claiming to be "abstinence-plus" when in fact these programs spend less than 5 percent of their content on abstinence and the majority on showing students how to use condoms and engage in "anything but intercourse"?

Choosing the Best dedicates over 70 percent of its content to a compelling abstinence message for teens, and facts suggest that when presented with full information, teens are increasingly choosing abstinence as the best choice for their lives and future.

Choosing the Best is not about "do" and "don't" scenarios. We favor a holistic approach where students are taught the importance of healthy relationships, communication with their parents, refusal skills, and knowledge of the risks of premarital sex and the rewards of abstaining until marriage.

One undeniable fact is, abstinence has never backfired and never will.

Bruce Cook was recently appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue to head the Community Service Boards task force.