SEX ED FOR FEDS

The federal government in recent years has doubled what it spends on abstinence-only programs despite the fact that these programs and their materials don’t undergo scientifically based evaluations of their accuracy or efficacy. After the Government Accountability Office reached this conclusion, the Department of Health and Human Services, which hands out money to the abstinence programs, said it was committed to reviewing materials used by the numerous programs it supports.

Such scrutiny, while overdue, is welcome. Given the administration’s support of abstinence-only programs at the expense of efforts that teach teens about birth control and avoidance of sexually transmitted diseases, this commitment is likely not enough. Congress must follow up and ensure that the GAO’s recommendations for more study of abstinence-only programs and scrutiny of their literature first takes places and, second, that necessary changes are made based on study results.

This is especially important because the Bush administration has quietly appointed a new head of the federal health department’s family planning programs who worked for a counseling organization that views contraceptives as “demeaning to women” and “adverse to human health and happiness.” The nomination of Dr. Eric Keroack, the current medical director for A Woman’s Concern, as deputy assistant secretary for population affairs, does not require congressional approval.

The Boston-area gynecologist is known for pioneering the use of ultrasound images of fetuses to persuade women to not have an abortion. Dr. Keroack, a supporter of abstinence-only programs, compared premarital sex to germ warfare.

The Office of Population Affairs, which Dr. Keroack will head, oversees a portion of the Health and Human Services abstinence funding. The department last year spent $158 million on these programs, up from $73 million in 2001.

Despite the federal dollars, there is no evidence that abstinence-only programs are especially effective. A study last year by the Centers for Disease Control, another branch of DHHS, found that a quarter of 15-year-old have had sexual intercourse. The percentages steadily increase and, at age 18, 62 percent of boys and 70 percent of girls have had sex. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that kids exposed to contraception education were not more likely to have sex than those in abstinence-only programs but they were two-thirds less likely to have unprotected sex.

Many of the programs DHHS funds base their success rate on participants’ self-reported changes in behavior, according to the GAO. This is not scientifically valid, the government review agency said, suggesting that pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease rates would be more accurate measures.

The agency is right, and is worth listening to when its officials say that rigorous review of abstinence materials are necessary, as is avoiding claims that condoms don’t help prevent the spread of AIDS, for example.

Kids should be encouraged to abstain from sex. The reality is that many won’t, so ensuring they understand the real dangers and consequences of their sexual activity is crucial.