Abstinence bill gaining momentum

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Abstinence bill gaining momentum

Backers cite safety; critics say lessons ignore teen behavior

By Steven Walters, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 15, 2005

Madison - The Legislature is on the verge of passing a bill that would require school districts with human growth and development classes to teach sexual abstinence until marriage as the preferred behavior.

The bill (SB 286) touched off a firestorm at a public hearing Tuesday, where abstinence was called the only "100% effective method" of avoiding pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. Opponents said the move would ignore the fact that many teens already engage in sexual activity.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin), said Wisconsin teens don't get the abstinence message in classrooms enough, because of a focus on using condoms and birth control instead. "Abstinence isn't taught out there, or isn't emphasized," Lazich told the Assembly Education Committee.

"Abstinence should be taught to students unapologetically," when a school district decides to teach students about growth and development, Lazich said.

But Jeff Pertl, a lobbyist for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, said the state's education agency opposes an abstinence-first mandate.

Pertl said that such a requirement would upset the current system of local teachers, parents, members of the clergy and administrators studying whether to teach sex education, including abstinence, and making a recommendation to the local school board, which makes the final decision.

"We like where we are today," Pertl said. "That is the essence of democracy."

Countering Lazich, Rep. Tamara Grigsby (D-Milwaukee) pushed her bill (AB 690), which would require school districts that teach sex education to offer even more detailed and explicit information about condom use and sexually transmitted diseases, in addition to abstinence.

Legislators would "stick our heads in the sand" by requiring schools to teach abstinence first, Grigsby said, because 60% of teens are sexually active by age 18.

"The reality is, (abstinence) is not the choice that's being made right now," Grigsby said, noting that the teen pregnancy and dropout rates in Milwaukee are among the highest in the nation. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin backs Grigsby's bill.

Students from a current events and health class at Milwaukee's El Puente High School listened to part of the debate, and some off them said abstinence instruction is important but that learning about the consequences of having sex is critical, too.

Tabitha Hill, 19, said teens "see a lot on TV," so they need to learn about abstinence as well as other sex-education issues, including precautions to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease.

Sammie Grandberry, 18, said he thought abstinence "should be mentioned a lot - due to lots of young ladies who have kids that are still in school can't reach their goals."

"Abstinence is important to teach in MPS, but also showing students to be responsible is a good thing," added Naomi Morales, 18. "They can teach us about abstinence, but most likely there will be people who aren't going to listen to that and, to be safe, I think it's best to teach both."

Having already passed the Senate and backed by Republicans who control the Legislature, Lazich's bill is closer to being passed by the full Legislature.

The Assembly Education Committee did not vote on the bill Tuesday, and no vote has been scheduled.

Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle will not take a position on the bill until it reaches his desk, said spokesman Dan Leistikow.

Representing the Wisconsin Abstinence Coalition, Cleo Phippen of Kohler said legislators should set high "standards of behavior" for Wisconsin teens, instead of making sure they are instructed in how to use condoms and about sexually transmitted diseases.

About one-third of all schools nationally teach abstinence until marriage, she said.

In Wisconsin school districts with a sex education curriculum, instructors now "teach what they want," Phippen said.

"Your job as legislators is to keep raising the bar" of expected behavior by teens, added Julaine K. Appling, of the Family Research Institute. "We need to keep before our young people a very strong - a very clear - abstinence message."

But Rep. Sondy Pope-Roberts (D-Verona) said it would not be wise to require school districts to teach abstinence as a preferred choice.

"We have to deal with the fact that (abstinence) is not the case," Pope-Roberts said. "Huge numbers of teenagers are sexually active. . . . We aren't educating them when we say, 'Close your eyes. Run away from this.' "

Grigsby said school districts that teach sex education should be required to give students explicit information on precautions to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease; on how to avoid unwanted sexual advances and sexual assault; and how to communicate about these issues with parents or guardians.

"We're facing a public health crisis," Grigsby added. "We have a responsibility to make sure people get that information."

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