Bringing Sex Education Back to School

When it comes to sex education, America is seriously backwards.

The American Academy of Pediatrics came out with a recent policy statement denouncing the continued misinformation that guides our decisions about sex ed. We can probably thank the Religious Right for making us the one and only Western country that believes (or at least, pretends to) that education about birth control will increase sexual activity, teen pregnancy, and the spread of sexually transmitted infections. We can also thank them for the abstinence-only education that actually does raise the rate of teen pregnancy and STIs to a point higher than our more sexually chatty peers, while failing to keep youth from having sex.

Planned Parenthood of New York City's blog, 'NYC Unrated & Unfiltered, points out that sex education is "the one subject in school that could potentially save your life." Whether you engage in sex in committed relationships or have casual sex with different partners, getting tested for STIs and always using protection when you don't know the sexual health status of your partner is a must. Often people who only have sex in monogamous relationships believe they are safe, but all it takes is unprotected sex with one infected person to catch an infection that can range from itchy and annoying to life-threatening. And because a person can be an asymptomatic carrier or delay in showing signs of infection, it's easy to unwittingly pass on a disease when you're not in tune with you're sexual health.

Conservatives who prefer to stick their heads in the sand on teenage sexuality and reject comprehensive sex education funding, like Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty, are endangering our nation's children. Yet it's not just red districts in the South and Midwest that are shirking their responsibility to their students. Of all the place where you'd expect to find solid sex education, New York City stands at the top of the list. Not only are we supposed to be a super liberal city, we also, like most large and dense cities in the U.S., have a high HIV/AIDS rate. The city even distributes cool NYC condoms for free to encourage safe sex. But what it isn't doing is making certain that all young people receive adequate sex education. What gives?

Actually, the Big Apple does have a Board of Education approved curriculum; however, many school have chosen not to implement it. That's why Planned Parenthood is heading to the Principal's office to push for sex ed for all during their week of action, which ends tomorrow. Principals have a lot of power over their school curriculum, and while their ability to enact change on sex education varies state by state, non-New Yorkers can follow PP's lead and talk to their children's principals about making certain kids get what they need to know.

Photo credit: uberzombie