US sex education no longer about abstinence

By Jane Han

NEW YORK _ Is teaching abstinence the best way to educate kids about sex? For the past 10 years it was considered so, but not anymore.

In America, sex education is no longer about telling kids to stay away from intimacy as the government approved for the first time in more than a decade dozens of new programs that aren’t centered only on abstinence.

Starting this school year, 28 programs will share a $375-million federal grant with a goal to lower teen pregnancy rates. The programs take an ``above the waist” approach, which aims to help improve students’ grades and involvement in extracurricular activities.

This is a U-turn led by U.S. President Barack Obama from the abstinence-until-marriage programs advocated under former President George W. Bush.

Many of the new programs will go practical by giving out condoms, but their main focus will be to guide teens to they make wiser life decisions.

``Shifting funds from failed abstinence-only programs to a new teen pregnancy prevention initiative is only the first step in the long battle to reverse the effects of 12 years of bad sex education policies,’’ said James Wagoner, the president of Advocates for Youth.

According to a new Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, states with abstinence-only sex education have sharply higher teen pregnancy rates than others.

For example, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire have birthrates below 25 per 1,000 teens, while Arkansas, New Mexico and Texas recorded rates that run higher than 60 per 1,000.

The CDC says the overall U.S. teen birthrate increased from 2005 to 2007, but dropped in 2008.

``There’s a growing realization that we have to talk to young people about relationships. It’s not just body parts,’’ said Bill Albert, the chief program officer for The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. ``It’s saying, `What are your goals?’ and helping young people understand what they need to get there.’’

The U.S. government is continuing to address teen pregnancy as a serious matter as it recently awarded $155 million in grants last month to prevent early pregnancies.

``These grants address a major problem facing American young people and their families,’’ said Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ``Teen pregnancy short-circuits the futures of young parents and their children. It is critical that we work with states and communities to give our young people the tools and information they need to make wise decisions that will ensure their health and success.’’

미국, 이제 금욕에 관한 성교육 없어져

뉴욕 ­어린이들에게 성교육하는 데 절제를 가르치는 게 최상의 방법일까요? 지난 10년 그렇게 생각했죠. 그러나 이제는 더 이상 그렇지 않습니다.

미국에서는 정부가 10여 년 만에 처음으로 금욕에만 중점을 두지 않은 새로운 프로그램 수십 종을 승인해, 성교육이 이미 성행위를 멀리하라고 아이들에게 말하지 않게 되었다.

이번 학년도부터 10대 임신율을 낮추기 위해 28 종의 프로그램에 3억 7,500만 달러의 연방정부 보조금을 쓰게 된다. 이들 프로그램은 학생들의 성적과 과외활동을 참여 홍보하기 위한 “허리 위”접근방법을 취하고 있다.

이는 버락 오바마 대통령이 조지 W. 부시 전 대통령 정부가 주창했던 “결혼전까지는 금욕하라는” 프로그램에서 완전히 U턴을 한 것이다.

신 프로그램 중 상당수가 콘돔을 주면서 실행에 옮겨질 것이다. 그러나 이 프로그램의 주된 촛점은 10대들이 현명한 삶의 결정을 하는 쪽으로 지도하는 것이다.