The recent alarming trend toward teaching religious opinion as scientific fact in our schools has scored another victory in Wisconsin.
In late September, the state Senate voted 24-9 to approve Senate Bill 286, which would require school districts with sex education programs to devote more attention to abstinence from sexual activity than to any other behavior aimed at reducing unintended pregnancy and sexually-transmitted disease. I can see what's coming next — Wisconsin is headed down a slippery slope toward abstinence-only education.
I have no problem with identifying, highlighting and encouraging abstinence as the safest method of protection against unintended pregnancy and sexually-transmitted disease. I remember receiving that message loud and clear in my high school sex ed class. But where SB 286 goes wrong is in insisting that abstinence receives more attention (which translates into more class time) than any other preventative measure.
Giving disproportionately less attention to educating students on contraceptive methods like condom use and birth control is simply irresponsible. For students who choose to engage in sexual behavior — despite being warned of its accompanying risks, possessing information about contraception literally can save lives.
When it comes to sex, the more students know about protecting themselves, the safer they'll be. The scientific data are readily available to compare and contrast different sexual behaviors for effectiveness against unintended pregnancy and sexually-transmitted disease. SB 286 allows individual school districts around the state to decide whether or not to provide this essential health information to their students. This is unacceptable. All students deserve to receive accurate information about sex that can help them make responsible decisions.
Providing complete and accurate information about preventative measures doesn't just highlight which methods are most effective — it also teaches students which methods are not effective. If the only method talked about during sex ed is abstinence, then how are students supposed to know that a condom is more effective in preventing unintended pregnancy and sexually-transmitted disease than the sponge? How are students supposed to know that birth control doesn't protect against sexually-transmitted disease? It's better to provide factual information than to let students make up their own.
I realize that supporters of SB 286 are praying for a utopia in which no unmarried individuals ever engage in sexual behavior. But let's face it — that's just not realistic, especially in a culture in which many parents spend little to no time talking to their kids about sexual issues and in which the entertainment media and advertisement industry bombard kids with subtle and explicit sexual images daily. Kids frequently hear inaccurate information about sex on TV, the radio, in magazines and from their friends. Peer pressure to have sex is enormous, and in some areas of the state, students assume it's a given that it will happen. To pretend it won't just because students are taught in school to abstain is as ridiculous as believing that all students will stay off drugs because they went through the D.A.R.E. program.
There is hope for Wisconsin students, however. State Rep. Tamara Grigsby, D-Milwaukee, has introduced a bill that, among other things, would require sex ed programs to include comprehensive information about pregnancy and sexually-transmitted disease prevention beginning in seventh grade. The benefits of abstinence would be recognized under this bill, but abstinence-only programs would not be allowed. This bill, Assembly Bill 690, is a safeguard against individual school districts denying full information to their students based on ideological or religious reasons. AB 690 provides access to accurate scientific information about prevention methods, but it still allows for individual families to decide whether or not to allow their children to participate in sex ed classes.
The choice between these dueling bills is clear. SB 286 allows for incomplete, unscientific information to be taught as fact to students who sometimes rely on what they learn in school to guide them in their decision-making processes. AB 690 requires that students in districts with sex ed programs are provided with accurate and complete information when it comes to protecting their health. AB 690 is the responsible way to go, and Wisconsin lawmakers should act in the best interest of our students by supporting this bill instead of SB 286.
Liz Sanger ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in violin performance and English.
