It’s Time to Throw Abstinence-Only Sex Education Out

By Bailey Borchardt, Planned Parenthood of New York City PPGen CUNY Organizer

Nigel Shelby should still be alive today. We didn’t create a world that accepted him as a young, black, gay child, and because of that he saw no other option but to take his own life. Unfortunately, his story represents thousands of others like his. There are many statistics that indicate that LGBTQIA youth are at a higher risk of suicide than their heterosexual counterparts.

Though there is a seismic cultural shift that must occur in order for our world to be safe and equitable for the LGBTQIA community, implementing comprehensive sex education into school curriculums would help to affirm the identities of LGBTQIA youth and has been proven to create a more welcoming educational environment for them that deters bullying.

The month of May was once a marker of National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month. This was designed to highlight the importance of giving young people the information and resources they need to make decisions about their family and their future. This year, a coalition made up of Power to Decide, Advocates for Youth, SIECUS, Healthy Teen Network, the Guttmacher Institute and Planned Parenthood Federation of America has agreed to rename the observance Sex Ed For All: Youth Power, Information, and Rights Month.

When sex education is used only to prevent pregnancies, not only does it leave out important information about sexual health and bodily functions, but it also stigmatizes teen parenting while reinforcing a heteronormative (and often conservative) point of view. When young people have access to truthful, inclusive, and factual sex education, it empowers them to make informed decisions about what’s best for their health and their bodies.

The Real Education for Healthy Youth Act (REHYA) was introduced in 2015 by Representative Barbara Lee. In a climate where elected officials are more interested in barring people from abortion access, it should come as no surprise that REHYA has yet to come to fruition. REHYA requires all sex education to be medically accurate and fully inclusive of LGBTQ and pregnant or parenting young people, eliminating funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. In addition to reintroducing REHYA, another piece of legislation called The Youth Access to Sexual Health Services Act (YASHS) aims to provide more access to sexual health services for marginalized youth.

Even in New York State, there is no legislation mandating the inclusion of comprehensive sex education in the school curriculum. Reproductive rights activists, including Planned Parenthood affiliates throughout NYS, are pushing elected officials to pass A6512, which would require public and charter schools to include comprehensive, age-appropriate sex education for grades K-12 based on national standards. Not only would New Yorkers benefit greatly from this legislation, but it would further solidify New York’s role as a champion for reproductive health care.

In an article for GLAAD, youth sexual health advocate Zipi Diamond writes, “Inclusive sex education is important for all students. It helps students support their LGBTQ friends, family members, and co-workers. It fights the systemic erasure of LGBTQ identities by openly talking about them. It reduces the stereotype that there is one correct way to have sex that only happens between two people with specific types of bodies. It also puts a greater emphasis on consent and understanding the emotional effects (positive or negative) of having sex or being intimate.”

When we don’t recognize sexual health as an essential part of one’s overall health, we put teens at risk of misinformation, STIs and HIV transmission, unhealthy relationships, and we deny them overall knowledge of their bodies that is their right to learn. Because LGBTQIA teens are at higher risk of STI and HIV transmission than their heterosexual counterparts, inclusion is paramount. Truly comprehensive sexuality education must also include, along with education about condom use and STIs, information about consent, healthy relationships, queer identity and expression, pregnancy options, and bodily autonomy.

Age should not dictate one’s access to education, nor should it deny a person their right to said education. After all, sex education is education just as sexual health is health.

At Planned Parenthood of New York City, we firmly believe in quality, compassionate sexuality education for all.

Learn more about how you can bring us to your community, and check out our sex ed resources for teens and parents.