There is a great letter to the editor in today’s edition of The Washington Times called Abstinence, sex-ed and public opinion.
The letter, written by Jodi Jacobson of the Center for Health and Gender Equity, responds to an article published last week that discussed the results of a new Harris poll on abstinence. The article equates the poll’s results with newfound support among young people for abstinence-only education programs. Jacobson points out in her letter that “the questions used in the survey referred to ‘programs to promote abstinence from sex before marriage’ — not to abstinence-only education programs.” And she goes on to remind readers that “all comprehensive programs include a component on abstinence and delaying sexual debut.”
It’s an interesting and well written letter and it points out something that I think is so often overlooked in this debate — comprehensive programs do teach abstinence, they just couple such information with medically accurate information on pregnancy and STD prevention.
