Other Voices: Parents need to be aware of sex education choices: Common sense tells us abstinence is 100 percent effective against pregnancy and disease control.

Other Voices: Parents need to be aware of sex education choices
Common sense tells us abstinence is 100 percent effective against pregnancy and disease control.
ROSE CHIU GUNDERSON
With my child approaching adolescence, I have been researching government's funding of sex education in schools and the politics of sex education.

There are two approaches to sex education funded by the government, the comprehensive safe-sex approach and the abstinence approach. Initially, I thought the comprehensive approach sounded more appropriate for our diverse society. A closer study made me realize that sex education is not merely a moral choice but a health choice, like that of not smoking.

Comprehensive safe-sex education does teach abstinence as the best choice but goes into great detail on how to use various methods of birth control. It conveys the message that if you cannot control yourself, there is a way out.

A parallel message to this approach in anti-smoking campaigns would be: "We wish you wouldn't smoke, but if you do, smoke filtered cigarettes ... and we will provide them to you without parental consent."

More than $6 billion tax dollars have been spent on comprehensive "safe-sex" education since the early '70s. During the same period, we had an unacceptable rise in teen pregnancy and a 25 percent increase in sexually transmitted disease (STD).

Recognizing the need for change, Congress started funding abstinence education in 1997 as an alternative. Guidelines for abstinence education include teaching the social, psychological and health gains to be realized by abstaining from sexual activity for our youth.

A parallel message to this approach in anti-smoking would be: "Don't smoke; it is not healthy for all the following reasons ... and here are a number of skills to help you avoid smoking."

In the last four to five years, statistics have shown a decrease in teen pregnancy and sexually active youth. You can decide whether there is a correlation between these encouraging statistics and the introduction of abstinence education. Common sense tells us abstinence is 100 percent effective against pregnancy and disease control.

Planned Parenthood, however, is showing its intolerance of abstinence education by proposing a bill (HB1178) in the state Legislature to mandate sex education be medically and factually accurate and use objective information. Since abstinence education focuses on self-respect, relationship building and dealing with peer pressure, these skills cannot be easily quantified in medical research.

I have the following questions to the proponents of this bill:

- Do proponents of this bill have no regard for teachers' judgment and professionalism?

- There is no authority named in the bill to regulate or arbitrate this stringent "accuracy" requirement. Can you imagine the confusion?

- Could this bill possibly scare schools from offering sex education at all for fear of lawsuits? Do I hear "censorship"?

Opponents of abstinence education want to stamp out diversity in sex education at both the state and national levels.

Parents, birth control is not the same as disease control. Tell your legislators to keep abstinence education in schools as it is the best choice for our youth.

Rose Chiu Gunderson, married with three children, is a member of The Olympian's Diversity Panel.