Chastity belt ploy tries to spotlight Pa.sex education

"Dear Senator, please send me a chastity belt."

While not the ordinary letter to a legislator, this is precisely the request that many Pennsylvania state senators and representatives received last week, courtesy of NARAL Pro-Choice America.

NARAL's letter -- released in anticipation of the state's annual Chastity Awareness Week -- uses the facetious request to lampoon lawmakers who, the organization believes, teach and promote unhealthy attitudes about sex to young people.

Pennsylvania's Chastity Awareness Week -- first observed in 1999 -- was held in May last year but has not yet been scheduled for 2005.

Debate on reproductive rights and sex education curricula has been a hot issue on campus in recent years.

Penn for Choice President Niva Kramek thinks the chastity belt campaign is a great way to get publicity for their cause.

"I think it's a great way to get attention," the College junior said, "and to point out some of the ridiculousness of the state legislature in dealing with these issues."

Like NARAL, Kramek feels that state legislators have not given young people enough options.

"It highlights the fact that in Pennsylvania, the only type of sex ed [officially supported by the legislature] is based on chastity."

"I don't believe it's effective," she said of abstinence-based curricula. She said that abstinence should be part of a comprehensive sex education curriculum "as long as the emphasis is on comprehensive."

College sophomore Nick Miccarelli, who is a member of the Penn College Republicans, is more hopeful about abstinence-based programming, but agrees that a comprehensive approach works best.

"Abstinence," he said, "is the ideal route for young people."

But "kids should be educated about the risks of sex," Miccarelli added. "Education is crucial to ensuring that kids make mature decisions."

"The majority of Republicans," Miccarelli conceded, "do realize that many kids will partake in sex even if you educate them as much as possible."

Nonetheless, he believes it is realistic to ask a child in today's society to remain abstinent.

"People brought up with moral values and understanding [of] the cons of sex should be able to remain abstinent."

Like Miccarelli, Jill Page, who is the director of abstinence and youth development for the Urban Family Council, feels that abstinence is ideal.

"The healthiest choice an individual can make is to be abstinent until marriage," Page said.

As for her own decision to remain abstinent, she said, "I'm single and I'm waiting for marriage."

There may be misconceptions, though, about the content of abstinence-based curricula.

"We're not just going in there and saying, 'Don't have sex. Good luck,'" Page said.

While she said that she supports educating youths about their bodies and reproduction, she was quick to denounce "comprehensive" sex education.

Such programs teach children about sexual practices and many different birth control options and could make them more likely to engage in sexual activity, she said.

Healthy relationships, she emphasized, are based on many characteristics beyond physical chemistry, so abstinence helps build healthier, more lasting bonds.

As for the chastity belt campaign, Page said, "If NARAL Pro-Choice were truly pro-choice, they would want people to understand that abstinence until marriage ... is a viable option." She is disappointed, she added, that NARAL should choose to mock a healthy decision.

Page also hastened to add that the UFC dislikes the term "chastity." Technically, it implies abstinence for religious reasons.

Abstinence-based programming, Page asserted, can fulfill the need for sex education. She points to the UFC's Going for Gold program -- which begins with seventh-graders -- as an example of successful abstinence-based programming.

"There is certainly research," she added, "and then there is anecdotal evidence" to suggest that abstinence-based programming is effective.

Page points to research published by the Heritage Foundation and the Abstinence Clearinghouse that suggests that abstinence programming is successful.

However, there is also significant research suggesting that such programs do not work.

Columbia University has conducted research suggesting that abstinence-based programs do not effectively reduce rates of teen pregnancy and other undesirable consequences of sexual activity among young people.

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