Teenagers have sex. There. I said it.

At Tapped, Dana Goldstein reports on yet another pro-abstinence only education group, “Parents for Truth”:

The U.S. has spent $1.5 billion on abstinence-only sex education programs. Seventeen states, responding to research concluding abstinence-only doesn’t work, have rejected the federal dollars associated with these programs so they can pursue reality-based comprehensive sex-ed. After all, over 9 out of 10 Americans have premarital sex — and that number has been fairly constant throughout the twentieth century, even before the sexual revolution of the 1960s.

That’s the evidence-backed, medically and sociologically sound truth. But abstinence hawks aren’t accepting it. Instead, they are launching “Parents for Truth,” a $1 million national campaign aimed at pressuring school districts and states to accept the Bush administration’s federal funds for abstinence-only. A video created by the National Abstinence Education Associate, which is leading the campaign, is completely deceiving. It shows a mom walking into a huge suburban kitchen after work, where her young teen daughter is doing homework at the table. Mom gets a phone call from another mother, who’s enraged over a sex-ed program called “Be Proud! Be Responsible!” A page of the program’s text book is shown on which “taking a shower together” is called a “green light” sexual behavior.

From the Parents for Truth FAQ:

Abstinence education realizes that “having sex” can potentially affect a lot more than the sex organs of teens, but as research shows, can also have emotional, psychological, social, economic and educational consequences. That’s why topics frequently discussed in an abstinence education class include:

• How to identify a healthy relationship
• How to avoid or get out of a dangerous, unhealthy, or abusive relationship
• Developing skills to make good decisions
• Setting goals for the future and taking realistic steps to reach them
• Understanding and avoiding STDs
• Information about contraceptives and their effectiveness against pregnancy and STDs
• Practical ways to avoid inappropriate sexual advances
• Why abstinence until marriage is optimal

So, within an abstinence education program, teens receive all the information they need in order to make healthy choices. That’s a lot of information and skills packed into an abstinence curriculum! And all of these topics are taught within the context of why abstinence is the best choice. There’s nothing “only” about the abstinence approach!

Notice anything missing?  You know, like talking about contraception.  The main page on the Parents for Truth website touts the shocking statistic that 1 in 4 teenage girls have a sexually transmitted disease,  but it definitely seems like the organization isn’t actually interested in preventing teen pregnancy or the spread of STDs.  The facts are pretty much clear at this point: abstinence-only education programs simply (even “inclusive” ones) don’t work.  There is a marked increase in STDs and teen pregnancy in areas where school districts have embraced abstinence-only programs.

I completely support promoting abstinence to teenagers.  I’ve spent the last two summers as a camp counselor for fifteen-year olds, and trust me, the last thing any of them should be doing is having sex.  Promoting abstinence however, doesn’t mean that you endorse ignorance.  Parents and educators need to accept the fact that at least a solid plurality of teenagers will be sexually active by the time they graduate.  And instead of abandoning them and thus putting them at risk for disease or pregnancy, we should equip them with the tools and information necessary to live a healthy life.  Which means, “Parents for Truth,” educating teenagers about safe sex and contraception.