Wrong Approaches to Sex Ed

Letter to the Editor

Re: "Let's Talk About Sex"

To the Editor:

How many studies will it take to convince the Bush administration that abstinence-only programs are not only misguided but potentially damaging to young people's health? These programs are directed not just toward young people here in the United States. Our government is exporting them to hundreds of millions of young people in low-income countries that receive U.S. foreign assistance—young people who are at grave risk of HIV-AIDS and unintended pregnancy.

The evidence is clear: Abstinence-only programs do nothing to stop premarital sex or to arm teens with the information they need to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. If we really want to protect the world's young people, we must equip them with the information and tools they need to make informed, healthy decisions about sexuality.

BETH FREDRICK
Executive Vice President, International Women's Health Coalition
New York

Originally published in the Washington Post, April 23, 2007.  Reprinted with permission.

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