Stop Making 'Sex Seekers' Out of Youth

Article from ChristiansUnite.com
The Centers for Disease Control has released the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Report (YRBS). This report shows the numbers of youth risk behaviors, including sexual risk behaviors, which shows a slight increase in the number of sexually active teens. "While opponents to sexual integrity education blame abstinence programs for these numbers, I think it's high time they took a look in the mirror," said Leslee Unruh, founder and president of both the National Abstinence Clearinghouse and the Alpha Center, a crisis pregnancy center operation in Sioux Falls, SD.

Studies show that abstinence education is far out-funded by condom-only education and others confirm this fact showing that condom education is taught in more classrooms than abstinence education. Most parents are actually shocked to learn that the programs promoting sex outside-of-marriage out-fund abstinence-until-marriage programs by a rate of nearly $12 to $1.

Yet, these programs promoting sex outside-of-marriage continue to be funded with little oversight or peer reviewed evaluations to demonstrate their effectiveness. "I challenge condom and contraceptive programs to conduct the same rigorous studies of their programs as abstinence programs do," said Leslee Unruh.

Opponents to abstinence education like Dr. Laura Berman blame the increase in sexual activity on, "kids learning skewed messages about what sex is," and "they are confused about what virginity means," and "I think part of the problem honestly is the abstinence only model." So they blame the increase in sexual activity on abstinence programs that promote sexual integrity through teaching self control while their programs promote teaching youth graphic sexual messages at an even earlier age. Why is this so confusing for them? You teach youth how to have sex and they will become sexually active. You teach them how to abstain, and reinforce that message consistently, and they will abstain.

"The only skewed message our youth receive is the one that teaches them they have no self-control, teaches them how to have sex and ultimately puts their lives at risk. We need to stop making 'sex seekers' out of youth," according to Leslee Unruh.

Unruh concludes, "Abstinence education teaches love; condom only education teaches lust. Let's do the right thing for youth by raising the bar for their sexual health from lust to love. Let's provide them the tools they need for self-control, to withstand the pressures, reject sexual advances, form healthy relationships and protect their bodies and their minds 100%."

Teens Request Abstinence Programs

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform recently held a hearing titled, "Domestic Abstinence-Only Programs: Assessing the Evidence." While the hearing was stacked against abstinence education funding, two experts testified as to the effectiveness of such programs. Federal funding for these programs is in jeopardy. Chairman Henry Waxman (Dem-California) advocates for comprehensive sex education, which has no evidence of reducing teen sexual activity.

A press conference was held yesterday at the National Press Club to release evidence from recent studies that prove over 50 percent of teens will refrain from sexual initiation if taught abstinence. And teens are requesting the programs.

Concerned Women for America (CWA) is providing, to congressmen, letters from students who want abstinence to be taught. In a letter written to Rep. Darrell Issa (R-California), Jordan wrote,

"Most teens who stay abstinent will be more emotionally stable, will not contract STDs, and will not get pregnant. This would not only benefit many individuals, but society as a whole. This is because the upcoming generation would be happier and healthier."

Lauren believes that even though there are "teens and other individuals who want to do whatever they see fit, most teens want to receive a strong message about abstinence. They want to know that they can say 'no' and that they don't have to give in to peer pressure. By informing students and teenagers of abstinence, you are allowing them to choose a better future and avoid all the emotional and physical heartache and risks of having casual sex."

CWA, along with teens across the nation, encourages members of Congress to continue to fund programs that not only provide proven results, but keep our children safe. Concerned Women for America is the nation's largest public policy women's organization.

TOPIC: One in Four Women in Teens Have S.T.D.’s, Study Finds
Article by NY Times Lawrence K. Altman
The first national study of common sexually transmitted diseases among teenage women has found that one in four are infected with at least one of the diseases, federal health officials reported on Tuesday. Nearly half of African-American teenage women were infected with at least one of the diseases monitored in the study — human papillomavirus (H.P.V.), chlamydia, herpes simplex type 2 and trichomoniasis, a common parasite. That figure compared with 20 percent of white teenage women. The chart of HIV/AIDS infections (at right) shows that percentages are very close to the same as 2005 results.
The two most common sexually transmitted diseases (S.T.D.’s) among all the women tested were H.P.V. at 18 percent and chlamydia at 4 percent according to the analysis, which was part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Among the infected women, 15 percent had more than one. Officials of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that the findings underscore the need for strengthening screening, vaccination and other prevention measures for S.T.D.’s, which are among the country’s highest public health priorities.

“High S.T.D. infection rates among young women, particularly young African-American women, are clear signs that we must continue developing ways to reach those most at risk,” said Dr. John M. Douglas Jr., who directs the centers’ division of S.T.D. prevention.

Federal health officials ask about different health and nutrition issues in the survey, which is conducted each year. The S.T.D. analysis was based on information collected in the 2003-04 survey. Participants in the statistically based survey are chosen on a random basis. The survey contacted 838 women ages 14 to 19 who agreed to be tested for a sexually transmitted infection. Extrapolating from the findings, researchers estimated that 3.2 million teenage women are infected with at least one of the S.T.D.’s
S.T.D.’s can produce acute symptoms ranging from vaginal discharge to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and also lead to long-term ailments like infertility and cervical cancer. The survey tested for strains of H.P.V. that are linked to genital warts and cervical cancer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends annual screening tests to detect chlamydia for sexually active women under age 25. The federal agency in Atlanta also recommends that women between ages 11 and 26 be fully vaccinated against H.P.V. [I highly disagree with the CDC's recommendation. It is dangerous and unnecessary for those who are abstinent. HPV can be 100% prevented by not having sex before marriage... and marrying a man who does the same.]

EDITORIAL: Look around your neighborhoods, schools and social centers. To put it boldly, the percentages reflect the promiscuity of the culture involved. In the South at least, black girls are far more likely to be sexually active at a young age than any other ethnic group. White girls are second, with Latinos and Asians the least sexually promiscuous. We need to reach young girls, especially blacks, with the message that they don't have to be sexually active to make it in life (or to make a living). NO, I am not saying they are whores. What I am saying (at least in the South) is that a large number of young black girls get pregnant by the time they are 15 years of age -- and then go on welfare to sustain their income. It's a vicious cycle that steals lives, creativity and potential. Without name calling and hate mongering, the subject needs to be discussed and the cycle needs to be broken. But, that's another subject for another time...
The one sure way to prevent STDs in these unmarried, but sexually active girls (they are not "women" because the vast majority are not of adult age) is through abstinence. The myth of "safe sex" is a LIE. It is a false sense of protection that fails -- which this survey further underscores. I find it odd that the survey did not include HIV/AIDS -- which is also prevalent among promiscuous teens.
God's plan for our sexuality is abstinence until marriage. Then, fidelity / monogamy after marriage. IF everyone practiced the ONLY two moral laws regarding sex, STDs would be wiped out in less than three generations. Then again, so would teen pregnancy, 99.9% of abortions, all sexual abuse and the remainder of the gamut that causes young women (and men) so much anguish and pain. THINK about it -- many of the problems faced by teens and 20-somethings are related to what they think is love, but is usually just lust brought on by all the sexual images they see and hear every day.
One last word to the kids who grew up with Bill Clinton's definition of "sex". Oral sex IS sex -- and you CAN catch an STD from having oral sex (giving or receiving).

TOPIC: Abstinence Brings 'Dignity'
Traveling in Africa, First Lady Laura Bush speaks in favor of faith-based HIV prevention.

Article by Isaac Phiri in Zambia

Thursday, June 28, started out as a pampered day in Mrs. Laura Bush's four-nation Africa marathon. Lusaka, Zambia, was the third stop in her week-long trip through Senegal, Mozambique, and Mali. After a private breakfast in one of the top hotels, she was sped to the country's luxurious presidential residency for photos, coffee, and a brief closed-door meeting with President Levy Mwanawasa. After that, accompanied by her Zambian counterpart, First Lady Maureen Mwanawasa, Mrs. Bush hit the road. "I hope you have comfortable shoes," she had warned at the beginning of her trip. "We will work hard." In Lusaka, she certainly did.
Her first stop was Regiment Basic School—a grade 1–9 Catholic-founded school populated by children with HIV and children who have lost parents due to the virus. Mrs. Bush observed a few minutes of a math lesson offered through a U.S.-funded, locally produced radio program. Next, she was entertained by the school drama group, which put on a 10-minute, anti-AIDS play. Then, she held an informal roundtable discussion with 13 female students, some HIV positive, all supported by either the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) or the Africa Education Initiative (AEI). Both PEPFAR and AEI provide hundreds of millions annually in U.S. taxpayer funds to help children in Africa with education and health care.
The final event at the school was a visit to the new Play Pump—a merry-go-round attached to a water pump. The invention is designed to provide clean drinking water from a deep well, and it's kid-powered. Mrs. Bush noted, "It runs on the energy of children at play and is a fun [piece of] equipment in the schoolyard." A cloud of red dust announced the arrival of the heavily guarded entourage that took Mrs. Bush and her daughter Jenna to the Mututa Memorial Center. Center director Martha Chilufuya's late husband, having received a lot of home-based care during his long illness, donated half of their farm to care-giving initiatives.
Today, thanks to PEPFAR, local, and international support, the center has 36 caregivers serving 200 people. Faith-based organizations such as World Vision, Catholic Relief Services, Expanded Church Response, and the Salvation Army are involved in a consortium known as RAPIDS (Reaching HIV/AIDS Affected People with Integrated Development and Support). These organizations help operate a community garden producing food and income for caregivers and their clients. Speaking to the Bush delegation, World Vision's Bruce Wilkinson, a leader with RAPIDS, said, "Today is a day to celebrate." And it was. Salvation Army–supported youth put on a skit. Women, mostly widows, sang and danced. A choir of children moved the audience with their song, "I know the Lord will make a way for me." Young women, led by American Idol finalist Melinda Doolittle, performed the hymn "Amazing Grace."
Mrs. Bush presented an American face that poverty-stricken Zambians rarely see. "Zambia is a strong partner with the United States," she said. "Our two countries are working to advance goals shared by people everywhere: improved opportunities for families, economic empowerment, and, most of all, good health." Mrs. Bush, seemingly oblivious to the blazing mid-day sun and the raging debate over faith-based HIV-prevention through abstinence programs, drove home the role of faith-based organizations in the fight against HIV, malaria, and other diseases. This is a theme she'd taken up starting the day before in Mozambique.

"Faith-based organizations have local connections," she said at a Maputo, Mozambique, seminary. "Churches, monasteries, temples, mosques, and synagogues have gone where no one else would." Places of worship are community centers, she said: "They serve as focal points for education, for distribution of commodities, and for advocacy for the needs of their people." Mututa seemed the right place to drive this point home. "One of the greatest sources of hope is the compassion of people of faith," she said. "In the United States and around the world, I have seen how houses of worship inspire volunteers with their messages of charity and hope."

The impact of faith-based initiatives is evident, Mrs. Bush said. "Millions of people have heard these messages, and they are putting their faith into practice across the continent of Africa."
In case there was a doubter in the audience, she cited an immediate example. "Here at Mututa, parents and caregivers know very well the healing power of faith," she added.
Later, Christianity Today asked Zambian First Lady Mwanawasa whether advancing abstinence using public resources was an issue in Zambia. "Not at all," she said. "As Zambians, we consider churches one of our biggest partners." The teaching of the church is critical, she said: "The message of abstinence is very important in preventing new infections." She mentioned another plus, too. "It brings dignity to young people," Zambian First Lady Mwanawasa said. "It must continue."
During the program at Mututa, Bishop Joshua Banda, pastor of one of the largest Assemblies of God churches in the country, sat in the fourth row. The bishop was encouraged by what he heard. "This is really heart-warming," he told CT. Banda, whose church runs a PEPFAR-funded project for orphans and vulnerable children, has followed closely the abstinence debate in the U.S. and is concerned. "Will there be PEPFAR funding after the end of the Bush administration?" he asked, calling the possibility of losing it "heart-breaking." Banda said he prays that the Bush-backed funding to help Africa fight HIV through encouraging abstinence continues. (The Bush administration has asked Congress for another $30 billion to fight HIV for the next five years.) Banda is disappointed that abstinence remains a topic of debate in the U.S. "We are beyond that," he said, before dashing to his car to beat the Lusaka traffic jam worsened by Mrs. Bush's convoy.
After a quick Zambian lunch at Mututa, Mrs. Bush was back on the road headed for Chreso Ministries, another PEPFAR-funded, faith-based HIV/AIDS initiative.
Chreso started as an outreach of a local church founded by Lusaka-based German preacher Helmut Reutter. The ministry encourages voluntary testing and provides antiretroviral medications to 2,500 adults and 100 children. Mrs. Bush's tour of the health facility ended in the church's sanctuary, where she chatted informally with staff and patients.
After the Chreso visit, Mrs. Bush was taken a little outside of Lusaka to a rural project that serves as a transit home for street children and also offers microfinance opportunities to women from surrounding communities. Mrs. Bush was pleased to see women "able to take care of themselves." Speaking at a formal evening event just before her departure, Mrs. Bush again commented on the role of faith-based organizations. "We saw very moving and sweet faith-based projects, where ministers and pastors and imams are working in their communities to extend the reach of care to people who are either ill or vulnerable," she said. "America stands with you." Mrs. Bush arrives back in the United States this weekend.