Bill would fund more efforts in abstinence education

If a new bill sponsored by Assemblyman John Faso is passed by the New York State Legislature, Catholic organizations like Community Maternity Services (CMS) will be able to expand abstinence education for teenagers.

Present welfare reform laws include $3.4 million for the next fiscal year to fund youth programs focusing on the benefits of sexual abstinence. Assemblyman Faso, ranking Republican member of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, has proposed $2.6 million in required state matching funds for the federal program and more than $17 million for "abstinence-based and abstinence only" programs to be administered by the State Health Department.

New York State in 1995 ranked sixth worst in the nation in terms of illegitimacy rate. Assemblyman Faso believes that abstinence education, a growing success story in the U.S., is the key to teaching teenagers that "it's not abnormal for them to say `no' to sex."

Giving credit

The directors of Community Maternity Services, an arm of diocesan Catholic Charities, agree. Sister Mary Ann LoGiudice, RSM, executive director of CMS, is often frustrated at the societal assumption that teenagers will inevitably have sex.

"That isn't giving the teen enough credit," she protested. "They very rarely get clearly that message that they can abstain from having sex. If we talk about the dignity of the individual and responsibility for every person, it seems to me we have to be ready to give them the tools to receive that message."

In order to do so, CMS has two critical needs to expand its abstinence education programs for teens: staff members and audio-visual materials.

One-woman effort

A few years ago, said Sister Mary Ann, CMS had a half-dozen family life educators on staff to run its five abstinence-based education programs. Today, after government funding cuts, just one person runs all five programs: Kelly Chandler.

Since Mrs. Chandler has to travel to any of the 14 counties of the Diocese that request one of the programs, sometimes bringing teen facilitators with her, said Sister Mary Ann, "We're in a situation where we respond to requests, but we don't go out of our way to advertise that we have these programs."

"When you ask [teen mothers] what would have turned them around," said Jack Simeone, CMS associate executive director, "most people think they're going to say, `I should have used birth control.' Actually, you hear that a minority of times. You hear them more often say, `You know, no one told me I shouldn't have sex,' or `I didn't hear that I could stop having sex,' or `I didn't hear that these were not wise choices I was making.' We need staff to work with the clients so the presentation comes across effectively. With more funding, we could also do more repetition. This stuff has much more effectiveness when you can go back."

What funding means

If the abstinence bill is passed, Mr. Simeone said, CMS could restructure its programs into a continuum. Parish religious education programs, schools and other organizations could request one specific program or an entire series.

Funding would also mean that CMS could reach out to a wider population, Sister Mary Ann said, educating more adolescents and pre-adolescents on the importance of delaying sexual activity.

"Most adults would agree that we just don't think it's healthy for teens to be having sex. But when an adult says, `You shouldn't be having sex, but protect yourself,' teens see it as one message: `You expect me to have sex,'" said Mr. Simeone. "They hear a consensus against drug use, alcohol and smoking cigarettes, but they don't hear a consensus about having sex -- and we need to reach a consensus."

Catholic support

The Faso bill has the support of the State Catholic Conference, which represents the bishops on matters of public policy. John Kerry, executive director, pointed out that "after 25 years of promoting value-neutral sex education in the United States, our nation has drastically failed in reducing the incidence of out-of-wedlock adolescent pregnancies, births, abortions and sexually-transmitted diseases."

The abstinence bill has been introduced in the state Senate by Senator Kemp Hannon, chair of the Senate Health Committee. CMS directors and the Catholic Conference have urged Catholics to support the bill, calling it "responsible" and "innovative" legislation.

(The abstinence bill in the State Assembly is A.5846; in the Senate, it is S.3258. To support the bill, contact your legislators.)

(06-26-97) [[In-content Ad]]