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"Sex, Lies and Politics" by Marjorie Heins (May 7, 2001)
<<Kids "know far too much too soon" about sex, a recent college graduate named Wendy Shalit lamented in her 1999 book A Return to Modesty, and Congress seems to agree. In recent years, it has been doing everything in its power to prevent comprehensive sexuality education from reaching America's youngsters and to promote, in its place, an educationally limited, fear-based curriculum that preaches "abstinence unless married."

Later this year, Congress will probably reauthorize an "abstinence education" program that it created in 1996 with $250 million in matching funds (to receive the full amount, states must put up at least three-quarters as much, or an additional $187.5 million). The original package was part of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act--otherwise known as welfare reform. It was the 104th Congress's attempt not only to eliminate welfare but to impose conservative standards of sexual morality on low-income Americans.

The law enumerates eight principles for "abstinence education," among them that "abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain way to avoid out-of-wedlock pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and other associated health problems"; that "a mutually faithful monogamous relationship in the context of marriage is the expected standard of human sexual activity"; and that "sexual activity outside of the context of marriage is likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects." Gay and lesbian youngsters, unlikely to conduct sexual activity only "in the context of marriage," are thus rendered deviant or invisible, while the children of single moms or unmarried couples are implicitly told that their parents have suffered "harmful psychological and physical effects" from sex outside marriage. Funded programs cannot discuss birth control or safer-sex techniques, except to highlight (or exaggerate) their shortcomings. The goal is quite explicitly to discourage adolescents from using condoms or other contraceptives.>>

<<James Wagoner of Advocates for Youth sums up:"It is a classic case of US politicians putting their agendas before the health and needs of our young people. And it has to stop.">>
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010507&s=heins

This article is adapted from Marjorie Heins' book _Not in Front of the Children :Indecency, Censorship, and the Innocence of Youth_. This book is scheduled to be published in May 2001. Here's a source of online reviews of this book:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0374175454/o/qid=988077501/sr=2-1/002-5232078-6085630

A related book by Marjorie Heins (_Sex, Sin, and Blasphemy: A Guide to America's Censorship Wars_)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1565840488/o/qid=988077501/sr=2-2/002-5232078-6085630

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