The Centers for Disease Control released a study today of vital statistics for 2006 (the most recent available.). Mississippi is now number one in births to teenagers ages 15-19. In 2005, it was third in the nation.
I spent some of my time today responding to this news by creating a fact sheet about sex ed and take-action letter with Shawna Davies, the Reproductive Freedom Project coordinator.
Here's the content we put together. It's a pretty shocking picture of the state of sex education in Mississippi:
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January 7, 2009
To Members of the Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Coalition:
Mississippi is failing its youth. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a report published today, ranked Mississippi FIRST in the nation in teen birth. Nationally, 41.9 teenagers 15-19 per 1,000 gave birth in 2006. In Mississippi, 68.4 teenagers 15-19 per 1,000 gave birth in 2006. There was a one-year increase of approximately 1,000 teen births between 2005 and 2006 in Mississippi. Additionally, the Mississippi State Department of Health Public Statistics office reports that 173 girls aged 12-14 in Mississippi gave birth in 2006. In 2006, there were 212,411 girls aged 10 to 19 in Mississippi; 8,701 of them became pregnant.
Mississippi law currently encourages harmful practices in the public schools. Sexuality education in the public schools is not required. Where schools opt to have sexuality education, the law requires that all programming emphasize an abstinence-only-until-marriage philosophy. The law does not allow in-school sexuality education classes to include demonstrations of how to use condoms or information about other forms of contraception. Despite abstinence-only-until-marriage programming, Mississippi’s rate of birth outside of marriage is striking: today’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study reports that nationally, 38.5% of all births happened outside of marriage in 2006; in Mississippi, 52.8% of all births happened outside of marriage.
Without legislative guidance, school districts are wasting resources. $5,971,147 in taxpayer dollars were spent on abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in Mississippi in 2006. As of 2006, approximately 8 Mississippi school districts—the only districts in the state to have implemented a sexuality education program at all—were receiving federal abstinence-only-until-marriage funding. Districts that receive this funding do not teach our young people what they need to know about reproductive health and contraception to make educated choices if they are sexually active.
Congress has allocated a billion dollars since 1996 for programs that focus exclusively on abstinence-only. This funding censors vital health care information about contraceptives. As a recipient of these federal funds, the Mississippi Department of Human Services is not allowed to discuss contraception with teens except to emphasize failure rates. We’re missing the chance to have our government use our resources to maximize learning, safety, health and happiness.
Abstinence-only-until-marriage programming does not work. A Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health study published on January 1, 2009, in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Pediatrics found that, when researchers controlled for variables such as attitudes about sex teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage do not differ from their non-pledging peers regarding levels of sexual activity. They are just as likely to have sex outside of marriage, had sex for the first time at the same age, and have the same number of sexual partners. The study also revealed that teenagers who took the pledge were less likely to use any form of birth control or protect themselves from disease and infection.
Mississippi needs comprehensive sexuality education. Comprehensive sexuality education teaches that not having sex is the best and only fail-safe way to prevent pregnancy and the transmission of STDs; it also teaches students how to make well-informed decisions about their health if they decide to become sexually active. Mississippi youth make tough decisions on a daily basis. Adult leaders should provide medically accurate information to help them make decisions that protect their health.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, research has clearly shown that the most effective programs to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS are comprehensive ones that include a focus on delaying sexual behavior and provide information on how sexually active young people can protect themselves. Curricula that stress waiting to have sex and provide complete information about using contraception can significantly delay the initiation of sex, reduce the frequency of sex, reduce the number of sexual partners, and increase condom or contraceptive use among teens. In a 2008 peer-reviewed scientific study, 15-19 year olds who participated in comprehensive programs that stressed the importance of delaying sex and provided information about contraceptive use were significantly less likely to report teen pregnancy than those who received either no sexuality education or attended abstinence-only-until-marriage programs
Major medical groups, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Society for Adolescent Medicine, support comprehensive sexuality education. King County, Washington, has made its comprehensive sexuality education curriculum and lessons available for free on the internet at http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/personal/famplan/educators/FLASH.aspx . Follow the link or type this address into your web browser to see a curriculum that works.
“Nationwide polls show an overwhelming majority of parents want sex education programs to cover where to get contraception and how to use it,” said Valencia Robinson, who works with teens as the AIDS Action Mississippi Director. “It’s time for Mississippi to do the right thing by its youth.”
No districts in Mississippi currently teach comprehensive sexuality education. You have the power to change Mississippi’s status from a state in crisis to a national leader in sexuality education. Support funding for sexuality education in Mississippi schools. Demand that our students receive effective, comprehensive and medically accurate information. Help make Mississippi safe for our youth. The legislative session has started. Contact your House Representatives and Senators today to let them know that you are alarmed by the recent Centers for Disease Control study and urge them to support sexuality education reform. You can contact your Representative at (601) 359-3770 and your Senator at (601) 359-3770 during the legislative session. If you can’t get through to them directly, contact the ACLU of Mississippi at (601) 354-3408.
You can also get involved in your local public school board. Current Mississippi law allows a school board to elect to implement comprehensive sexuality education by voting for it. Contact your school board members, share what you know about the state of sexuality education in Mississippi and the startling results, and urge them to give youth in their districts the education they so desperately need.
Please contact the ACLU for materials and sample letters to use when contacting public officials.
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