According to the most recent data available from the Guttmacher Institute,
• Massachusetts has one of the lowest teen birth rates in the U.S. (48th);
• however, Massachusetts also has one of the highest teen abortion rates in the nation (11th).2
In other words, teens in Massachusetts are having fewer children as a result of increased recourse to abortion. Are the Frameworks an attempt by the Legislature to further expand the role of abortion in Mass. in order to address the issue of teenage pregnancy?
Conspicuously absent from the objectives on Reproduction and Sexuality is any presentation of prenatal development, leaving young people ill-informed about the nature of the abortion debate and even more ill-informed with respect to making decisions about their personal behavior. Also absent is any discussion of recent research indicating potential adverse psychological effects of abortion on many teenage girls.3
SUBVERTING THE WISHES OF PARENTS; FAILED PUBLIC POLICY
Although Mass. Citizens for Life is concerned primarily with the impact of the Frameworks on the number of abortions, we are also concerned with respect for the rights of parents and the well-being of young people.
According to a Zogby poll taken in 2003, only 7 % of parents of school aged children believe that the best message for sex education programs is, "It's OK for teens in school to engage in sexual intercourse as long as they use condoms". (47 % endorsed "wait until marriage", 32 % "wait until they were in a relationship near marriage", and 12 % "wait at least until finished high school").4
Yet the predominant focus of the specific objectives regarding sexual activity, pregnancy and STI prevention is "methods" and "behaviors", with only token inclusion of abstinence. Students as young as eleven years old, and continuing through high school would be taught "whom to consult", "methods for pregnancy prevention", and "policies of various states... regarding STI prevention among youth". In other words, as young as 11 would be taught how/where to get birth control without the knowledge and consent of parents! Tacit approval is given to premarital sexual relationships for students as young as 14. 5
These objectives further extend a failed public policy with respect to both teen pregnancy and STI's by creating a false sense of safety among the young, and inadvertently encouraging them to take more risks. After more than two decades of promoting "safer sex" strategies to prevent STI's, the CDC recently found that:
• 26% of teenage girls in the U.S. has at least one STI
• This includes 48% of African American teenage girls
• The most common STI's were HPV and Chlamydia. 6
As noted on the CDC website, "HPV can infect areas that are not covered by a condom-so condoms may not fully protect against HPV. So the only sure way to prevent HPV is to avoid all sexual activity." 7
RECOMMENDATION
Because portions of the Mass. Health Curriculum Frameworks include such a radical form of sex education and a critical disregard for the rights of parents, we urge parents and concerned citizens to contact their legislators and express their opposition to any mandatory implementation of the Health Curriculum Frameworks.
(To view the Frameworks online, visit: http://www.doe.mass.edu/framew...
See pages on Reproduction/Sexuality, Family Life, and Disease Prevention and Control. p.31, 32)
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1 Mass. Comprehensive Health Curriculum Frameworks, 1999
Objective 4.20: Identify resources available for treatment of reproductive health problems
Objective 4.a: (Law and Policy. Connects with History & Social Science: Civics & Government) Identify and explain laws about reproductive services
www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/health/1999/1099.doc, pages 31, 32.
2 U.S. Teenage Pregnancy Statistics National and State Trends and Trends by Race and Ethnicity
Guttmacher Institute, Sept, 2006, p. 12
3 David M. Fergusson, "Abortion in young women and subsequent mental health",
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 47:1 (2006), pp 16-24
4 Robert E. Rector, et. al., "What Do Parents Want Taught in Sex Education Programs?" Heritage Foundation. 2004
5 Mass. Comprehensive Health Curriculum Frameworks, 1999.
Objective 4.7 Describe short- and long-term consequences of sexuality-related risk behaviors and identify barriers and supports for making health-enhancing decisions
Students discuss consequences around sexuality decisions. Determine and role-play steps that improve decision-making (such as with whom to consult, information overlooked)
Objective 4.8 Describe behaviors and methods for pregnancy prevention, including abstinence
Objective 4.9 Define the types of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV/AIDS, and how they are prevented
Objective 4.13 Describe the effectiveness and consequences of various pregnancy, HIV, and STI prevention methods, including abstinence
Students identify ways to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections
Objective 4.b. (Law and Policy. Connects with History & Social Science: Civics & Government)
Explain the laws and relevant court rulings concerning rights about consensual sexual relationships and reproduction (e.g., Roe v. Wade, Bowers v. Hardwick)
6 "Nationally Representative CDC Study Finds 1 in 4 Teenage Girls Has a Sexually Transmitted Disease", 2008 National STD Prevention Conference, Chicago, Illinois, March 2008
7 Centers for Disease Control, http://www.cdc.gov/std/HPV/STD... <5-26- |
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