Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 4, 1995 TAG: 9510040061
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press|
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Abstinence-only lessons are not enough to prevent teen-age pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases, the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League and several educators said.
``The reality is a lot of kids aren't going to choose that,'' said Jerald Newberry, director of sex education programs for Fairfax County, Va., schools. ``So, do we abandon them to ignorance?''
Conservative groups immediately criticized the NARAL survey, arguing that abstinence programs like Sex Respect, used in 1,600 school districts, work.
``Kids want to learn about how, and why, to say no to sex,'' said Caia Mockaitis, spokeswoman for Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs, Colo. ``So why don't we implement public policy that reflects that?''
Communities from California to Louisiana to New York have fought in recent years over condom distribution, AIDS education and teaching abstinence.
Since 1994, five states - Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas - have passed laws prohibiting, restricting or discouraging comprehensive sexual education, NARAL's survey found. Such laws were proposed in a total of 27 states.
North Carolina's law says abstinence until marriage must be the focus of any sex education course. It requires schools to show parents any materials before they are used. Laws in Oklahoma, Mississippi and Texas are similar.
South Dakota repealed a mandate requiring schools to teach about AIDS.
Twenty-two states require schools to teach some sex education, said NARAL president Kate Michelman. Nineteen states prevent schools from handing out Condoms.
by CNB