As part of my ongoing fascination with the remarkable inanity of publicly-funded abstinence-only programs, I found a new report explaining that Ohio’s program is unusually ridiculous.
Ohio abstinence-education programs contain false information and disregard the needs of sexually active or homosexual youths, according to a new report from a public health professor.
One abstinence program, for example, tells teens they should “be prepared to die” if they use condoms because the contraceptives are likely to slip off or break, Scott Frank, a professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, said in a report released yesterday.
However, “an authoritative study” by Consumer Reports magazine found that “with correct use,” condoms break as little as 2 percent of the time and slip off as little as 1 percent of the time, said Dr. Frank, a family physician who directs the university’s public health division.
Frank is clearly one of those misguided members of the reality-based community who believes facts matter when presenting health-related information to students in public schools. How foolish.
Reviewing the programs, Frank was quoted saying this week, “I found myself shaking my head and wondering, ‘What decade are we living in?'” That’s easy; we’re living in the Bush decade — where we give tax dollars to religious groups to lie to young people about their sexual health.
Keep in mind, this is not just an isolated incident with one bad curriculum in one high schools. Ohio is the fourth-ranked state in the nation for spending on abstinence programs, which in turn are offering young people junk science. Frank’s report said many of the state’s programs “contain false information about contraceptives … [and] abortion, misrepresent religious convictions as scientific fact, [and] perpetuate destructive, inaccurate gender stereotypes.”
Surely, you’re thinking, responsible teachers who want to convey accurate information are ignoring the taxpayer-financed curricula and supplementing the lessons with facts, right? Wrong. These abstinence programs are financed by the federal government with specific strings attached — including a strict prohibition on teachers making any mention of the health benefits associated with contraception.
Teachers aren’t allowed to tell students that when condoms are used correctly, they are nearly always effective. Even if a student asks how to use a condom effectively, teachers are forbidden to tell him or her the truth.
According to a Washington Times report, a House subcommittee on education will consider new federal funding for abstinence education, giving lawmakers an opportunity to correct a reckless and irresponsible mistake. I’m not optimistic.