Sex Ed in Schools

Stories

19 Stories

August 2008
- Principal of 'Pregnancy Pact' High School Quits
  
  Boston Globe | Aug 13, 08 11:23 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The principal of the Massachusetts high school that gained infamy for an alleged pregnancy pact made by 17 students has resigned, the Boston Globe reports. The Gloucester High principal said the mayor "publicly slandered" him and insisted his interview with Time, which set off the controversy, was "direct, truthful, and honest," the Gloucester Times reports. More »
July 2008
- Evangelicals' Sex Talk Has Hidden Agenda
  
  Salon | Jul 8, 08 7:50 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Sex is no longer taboo for the religious right—but the evangelical sexual revolution is no liberation movement, historian Dagmar Herzog argues in her new book, Sex in Crisis . Instead, Herzog asserts that “evangelicals, over the last couple of decades, have beaten liberals at their own game by adapting liberal rhetoric for conservative ends," writes Louis Bayard in Salon . He thinks, however, that Herzog has overstated the case a bit. More »
June 2008
- Teen Sex Rate Stops Dropping
  
  Washington Post | Jun 5, 08 8:45 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A decade-long drop in the teen sex rate leveled off between 2001-2007 and it may now be slowly rising again, the Washington Post reports. The government survey of thousands of high school students also found that an increase in condom use flattened out in 2003. The numbers have alarmed public health workers and revived debate about the effectiveness of abstinence-focused sex-ed programs. More »
- Abstinence Campaign Targets Parents
  
  Washington Post | Jun 1, 08 6:17 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Abstinence-based sex-ed advocates have launched a campaign to rally a million parents to support the method, the Washington Post reports. The $1-million Parents for Truth campaign has sent e-mails pushing the approach to some 30,000 supporters and parents, with plans to to contact 100,000 more this week. The group hopes parents will lobby local schools and elect officials to support a focus on abstinence. More »
April 2008
- HPV Linked With Lung Cancer, But Many Still Fight Vaccine
  
  ABC News | Apr 28, 08 3:33 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The human papillomavirus, or HPV, has been linked to increased risk of lung cancer, but conservatives are standing firm in opposition to the new vaccine. Parents and activists charge that Gardasil encourages promiscuous sex, ABC News reports. "If you give kids the vaccine, you're giving them a license to go have sex," insists the head of an abstinence advocacy group. More »
- McCain Ultra Conservative on Women's Issues
  
  Salon | Apr 11, 08 7:51 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - John McCain is far more conservative on abortion, sex education and other issues than most voters believe, writes Joe Conason in Salon. He says McCain's voting record and views—as opposed to his moderate image in the mainstream press—often infuriate women, especially because he wants to overturn Roe v. Wade, favors abstinence-only sex ed, and doesn't want insurers to pay for contraception. More »
March 2008
- One-Quarter of Teen Girls Have STDs
  
  Associated Press | Mar 11, 08 4:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - At least one in four teen girls in the US—that's over three million people—has a sexually transmitted disease, a new CDC study shows. By far the most common infection is the human papillomavirus, which can cause cervical cancer, the AP reports. An STD expert calls the new figures "clear signs that we must continue developing ways to reach those most at risk." More »
February 2008
- Women Reclaim Virginity Through Faith, Surgery
  
  MSNBC | Feb 28, 08 6:30 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Efforts to reclaim lost virginity appear to be gaining steam across the country, MSNBC reports. More young women are declaring a sexual do-over, with some even opting for surgical replacement of the hymen, say doctors who’ve seen an increase in the procedures. “I felt really bad from a religious standpoint,” a 23-year-old single mother of two said, explaining her decision to spiritually revirginize. More »
- Paris Tweens Get Their SexyEdBack
  
  Los Angeles Times | Feb 19, 08 2:55 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Worried that the French approach to sex education isn't very, well, French, a new exhibit in a Paris science museum is teaching kids what happens when the lights go out in the City of Lights. The museum exposes the anatomical, biological, and mushy sentimental mysteries of sex through exhibits that range from practical to goofy, the LA Times reports. More »
December 2007
- Syphilis Makes a Surprise Comeback
  
  Associated Press | Dec 20, 07 5:34 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Syphilis, the sexual scourge of the 19th century, was all but vanquished in Europe in the fifties. But it's making a comeback, with 2006 UK infection rates 10 times what they were a decade earlier, and other nations boasting similar stats. Health officials blame the upsurge on the rise of online dating sites and "safe sex fatigue" after the HIV awareness campaigns of the nineties. More »
- US Teen Births Rise for First Time in 15 Years
  
  Associated Press | Dec 5, 07 5:30 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Teenage births have risen in the US for the first time in 15 years, say government statisticians. CDC officials say it's too early to tell whether the data represent a statistical blip or a real trend. But some experts blame the spike on the administration's focus on abstinence-only sex education, which doesn't teach teens how to use condoms and other contraception, the AP reports. More »
November 2007
- Abstinence Ed. Isn't Slowing Teen Sex
  
  Associated Press | Nov 7, 07 1:17 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Abstinence-only sex-education courses funded by the federal government are no match for teenage libido, according to a new study from a non-partisan group seeking to reduce teen pregnancy. The study found such programs had less “positive impact” than more comprehensive curricula, the AP reports, and dismissed as myth the idea that teaching about contraceptives increases promiscuity. More »
October 2007
- Senator Has Hots for Anti-Sex Ed
  
  Politico | Oct 31, 07 3:37 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Arlen Specter has won over $8 million in earmarks for abstinence education in Pennsylvania, sparking jibes from critics and accusations of political pandering. The moderate Republican senator supports abortion rights and sex education, Politico reports, leading some to cry hypocrisy when he directs money to no-sex-until-marriage projects like Coolvirginity.com. More »
- Maine Middle School Offers Preteens the Pill
  
  Associated Press | Oct 18, 07 10:56 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A Portland, Maine, middle school stirred controversy last night when its board voted 5-2 to make birth control pills and patches available for its pupils, typically between 11 and 13 years old. The move was prompted by the school nurse's claim that five of 134 students treated by the health center last year were sexually active, the AP reports. Opponents cited religious and health concerns. More »
July 2007
- Falling Teen Sex Rates Stall
  
  Washington Post | Jul 24, 07 4:57 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - After steadily dropping for a decade, the US teenage sex rate leveled off in 2001 and has stalled there since, according to a government study. What caused the halt in the trend is unclear, but it coincides with the beginning of increased funding for abstinence-only sex education and may reflect more relaxed attitudes among teens to the dangers of AIDS. More »
- States Say No to Abstinence Programs
  
  New York Times | Jul 18, 07 6:27 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - School sex education programs that concentrate on abstinence are under threat despite years of federal funding for organizations like Virginity Rules, the New York Times reports. Eleven states have rejected abstinence education in the last year and Congress cut program funding for the first time since 2001. A study of abstinence education found no indication that it delayed a first sexual encounter. More »
- Teens Having Safer Sex, Fewer Babies
  
  Associated Press | Jul 13, 07 4:55 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - High school students are having less sex than kids in the past, and more are using condoms. The teen birth rate is at an all-time low, and the proportion of teens completing high school is up. A new federal report looks at the condition of Americans under 18 and finds a number of bright spots—and areas that need work. More »
- Ex-Surgeon General Alleges Censorship
  
  Los Angeles Times | Jul 10, 07 7:54 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Bush administration "did not want to hear the science" on subjects such as stem-cell research and abstinence-only sex ed, the ex-surgeon general says, and he was muzzled and marginalized when he tried "to be the doctor of the nation—not the doctor of a political party." Richard Carmona's 4-year term expired last year and wasn't renewed. More »
March 2007
- Teens Taught Fertility 101
  
  Washington Post | Mar 21, 07 9:34 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A new book teaches teenage girls how to determine when they are (and are not) most likely to become pregnant, but some adults are sure they want girls to have the information. Cycle Savvy,The Smart Teen's Guide to the Mysteries of Her Body by Toni Weschler, shows teens how to chart fertility over their monthly cycles. More »