Sex Education: We've Got Learning to Do

By Amy Phillips Bursch, Media Relations Manager

 

My sex education was less than ideal. In sixth grade, they separated the boys from the girls and sent us into rooms where we watched grainy, out-of-date films explaining the reproductive system in the least interesting way possible. They also warned parents in advance. My mom decided to SHOW UP. AND COMMENT DURING THE Q&A SESSION. It was quite possibly the deepest humiliation a 12-year-old girl can endure. If I could have melted into a puddle and disappeared into the carpet, I would have. I remember nothing about the movie itself, shockingly.

A mural in Phoenix promotes abstinence. Teens say they want abstinence information, but they also want to learn about contraception. (cobalt123/Flickr)

Unfortunately, it seems that I'm not the only person who missed some vital information in sex ed class.

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy just released its new national survey on attitudes toward teen pregnancy, and unsurprisingly, kids have some learning to do:

• 86% of teens age 15-19 say they know everything they need to know to avoid getting pregnant. But 47% of teens say they know “little or nothing” about condoms.
• A whopping 72% of teens – including 87% of teenage boys – say they know little or nothing about birth control pills. Yikes.
• 4 in 10 teens say using birth control doesn’t matter – if it’s your time to get pregnant, you’ll get pregnant anyway. Thanks, abstinence education!
• 52% of teens say they rarely or have never talked with their parents about sex or relationships based on something they saw on television or in other popular media.

But don’t despair! It’s not all bad news!

• 79% of adults say if their teens are having sex, they hope their kids talk to them so they can make sure they’re using appropriate contraception.
• Most teens and adults agree: Students need more information about contraception AND abstinence – also known as comprehensive sex education – in order to avoid pregnancy.
• 75% of adults and teens think politicians who oppose abortion should strongly support contraception. A-MEN. You listening to them, lawmakers?

So kids and parents want more and better information. And who could blame them? Avoiding teen pregnancy is super important if you want to keep your life on track. (97% of teen girls agree!)

But one word of advice for parents: DO NOT show up at your kids’ school during sex education class. They will never forgive you, and they’ll blog about it 25 years later. And who wants that?

Hey "Pro-Lifers": Family Planning Saves Lives. So Why Oppose It?

By Amy Phillips Bursch, Media Relations Manager

 

This is one thing I’ll never, ever understand: Family planning saves lives. Family planning prevents unplanned pregnancies. No unplanned pregnancies equals way fewer abortions. So why aren’t the hard-core “pro-lifers” in favor of family planning?

There are plenty of reasonable people out there who oppose a woman’s right to choose but fully support family planning, of course. I’m not talking about them. I’m talking about the activists and organizations who think abstinence is the only acceptable option to prevent pregnancy. That’s unrealistic, and it hurts women, infants and families. How? Here are some facts:

Family planning helps women -- and their children. (Legends2K/Flickr)

• A U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) analysis found that if moms waited three years between pregnancies to have another baby, 1.6 million infant and child deaths could be prevented every year.
• The Guttmacher Institute estimates that in 2012, 291,000 women in developing nations will die from pregnancy-related causes. At least 104,000 of those women didn’t want to be pregnant in the first place.
• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), women under 20 are significantly more likely to die after giving birth than are women ages 20-29. Family planning allows younger women to wait to have children when their bodies can better handle pregnancy.
• The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reports that babies of mothers who die are more likely to die themselves.
• A Guttmacher Institute analysis found that family planning (at current levels) prevents 138 million abortions – including 40 million unsafe ones – each year in developing countries. An additional 26 million abortions (16 million unsafe) would be prevented if women who want to avoid pregnancy but don’t have modern methods of contraception had them.
• Unsafe abortions account for 13% of maternal deaths around the world, according to the WHO. I think it’s safe to say that practically none of those women would have died from unsafe abortion if they hadn’t been pregnant in the first place.

But some “pro-life” organizations can’t be persuaded. The “personhood” people want fertilized eggs to be given all the rights of full-grown humans, making the most effective forms of contraception illegal. Personhood USA on Wednesday sent out a tweet saying that “The lie: birth control prevents pregnancy. The truth: most will get pregnant & ‘need’ an abortion.” I guess infertile couples should use contraception, then?

The American Life League actively promotes the falsehood that the “Pill Kills Babies.”  A new group, 1Flesh, has also jumped on the "pill kills" bandwagon, and OneMore Soul says “an openness towards having children yields specific medicalbenefits.” (Huh?)

Justice for All’s handbook, “Abortion: From Debate to Dialogue,” says birth control pills are “as if the child entering the uterus is looking for his camping spot and finds “NO CAMPING!” signs … he dies from lack of nutrition and hydration.” It also says that “since self-control seems to be the root cause of unwanted pregnancies, why not focus our efforts on teaching people how to be abstinent”? I’m sure married couples who don’t wish to become pregnant will find that suggestion just peachy.

It's worth repeating: Family planning saves lives. Family planning prevents abortions. Family planning helps gives women power over their own futures. 

You really want to oppose all of that, "pro-lifers"? Really? REALLY?

No Holding Hands in Tennessee?

Amy Phillips Bursch, Media Relations Manager

Sometimes, the only logical reaction to a story is “WHAT?”

Tennessee just enacted one of the strictest abstinence education laws in the nation. In fact, the law bans teachers from talking about “gateway sexual activity” without defining what, exactly, “gateway sexual activity” is, leading opponents of the law to brand it the “no holding-hands bill.”

"Gateway sexual activity"? (Katie Tegtmeyer/Foter)

And you guessed it: Tennessee has one of the highest teen birth rates in the nation. Clearly, Tennessee teenagers are doing a lot of hand-holding. Or something.

I’m not here to pick on Tennessee – it’s not the only state that tries to tackle teen pregnancy with the “Just Say No” approach. The problem is, teens AREN’T saying no. Teens – including Tennessee ones – have sex. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 70% of American teenagers have had intercourse by their 19^th birthday, beginning at age 17 on average.

Population Connection supports fact-based, unbiased comprehensive sex education. Why? Because it works.  One recent study found that teenagers who were taught both about contraception and the benefits of abstinence delayed having sex, protected themselves when they did and had the healthiest partnerships. Students who received only abstinence education also delayed having sex, but when they did, they were less likely to use contraception. And we all know what that leads to, which is great when you’re ready, but difficult when you’re not.