Abstinence obsession

THE BUSH administration has been increasing grants to the states for abstinence-only sex education in public schools, crowding out funds for more comprehensive programs that include abstinence along with discussions of contraception. Now Governor Romney is following a similar path, supporting a restriction on the use of $740,000 in federal abstinence grants for classroom education only. The Legislature ought to reject the governor's amendment when it comes up for consideration today.

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For several years the Massachusetts Department of Public Health has used most of these so-called Title V federal grants for a popular and effective abstinence education media campaign. Public-service television ads, posters on buses and trains, radio spots, and community outreach events emphasized abstinence for teenagers and promoted self-esteem to delay sexual activity.

Conducted partly in Spanish, the campaign targeted communities with high teenage birth rates. All the materials were approved by an advisory committee, including representatives of Planned Parenthood and Massachusetts Citizens for Life. Among other advantages, the materials included discussion guides for parents. The classroom-only restriction Romney favors could leave parents out of the equation.

Abstinence-only approaches have their uses, especially in the lower grades. But the quality of the programs is spotty. Last year Representative Henry Waxman of California issued a stinging report of the most commonly used abstinence-only curriculums, finding rampant misinformation and scare tactics. For example, students were told that condom use results in pregnancy in one of seven cases. Others were told that AIDS can be transmitted through sweat or tears.

And abstinence-only programs are of little use to teenagers who are already sexually active. According to a 2003 Centers for Disease Control survey, 41 percent of Massachusetts high school students said they have had sexual intercourse, slightly lower than the national average.

Comprehensive sex education, which explains the risks of unprotected sex and explains various methods of avoiding pregnancy and disease, is a far more realistic approach in high school. Romney supports comprehensive sex education but wants a specific emphasis on abstinence, according to a spokeswoman. But state and federal funds for comprehensive programs have been cut while abstinence-only money has increased. Rather than further restricting the use of federal grants, Massachusetts ought to be requiring comprehensive sex education, with parental approval, in the schools. Anything less shortchanges reality and the health of the state's young people.