NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:   March 28, 2008

CONTACT:  Diane Gramley   1.814.271.9078 or 1.814.437.5355

Abstinence Works 100 Percent of the Time, Pro-Family Group Says

(Pittsburgh) – The American Family Association of Pennsylvania (AFA of PA) has contacted the Pittsburgh Public School board directors asking that they not change the district’s sex ed program  from one based on abstinence to a comprehensive program. 

Also, being overlooked is the effort to change the definition of family in the sex ed curriculum to include homosexual families.  The overall effort apparently is to not only tell students it is okay to engage in so-called ‘safe sex,’ but it is also okay to engage in homosexual sex.

Noting that abstinence does work 100% of the time, the statewide pro-family organization presented some of the following points in the letter to board directors:

q     A June 12, 2007 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study showed that comprehensive sex-education classes taught in public schools across the nation contain medical inaccuracies, present information in an amoral way, and do not delay the onset of sexual activity among youth. 

q     The HHS study reviewed nine popular comprehensive sex-education programs and found that hardly any emphasis is placed on true abstinence from sexual activity. The focus, rather, is on contraception and ways to lessen the risks associated with sexual behavior.

q     Of the curricula reviewed, the curriculum with the most balanced discussion of abstinence and safer-sex still discussed condoms and contraception nearly seven times more than abstinence.

q     Some comprehensive sex ed programs are being rebranded ‘abstinence plus.’  This is a misnomer.  What these programs do teach are overstated, exaggerated claims of condom usage rates and effectiveness; understated benefits of abstinence, including inaccurate suggestions that abstinence and "safe sex" are equally safe and healthy choices; and promotion of provocative alternatives to intercourse often described as "outercourse."

“It’s sad to see this effort to change the sex ed program being led by parents.  I’m sure they are well-meaning, but they are misguided.  Students – the children of these parents included – should not be given a mixed message about such an important issue.  About 75 percent of schools in the nation use comprehensive sex ed.  These programs obviously do not work,” noted Diane Gramley, president of the AFA of PA. 

She was referring to the March 11^th Centers for Disease Control study showing that 1 in 4 teens have a sexually transmitted disease thus proving the ineffectiveness of comprehensive or ‘abstinence plus’ programs.  

The parents who are apparently leading this effort are in a minority nationwide.  A 2007 Zogby poll found that parents prefer abstinence education over comprehensive education by a 2 to 1 margin.  The overwhelming majority of parents surveyed said they want their teens to be sexually abstinent until they are married.