Post-Roe, Sex Educators Rethink Their Role

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Post-Roe, Sex Educators Rethink Their Role

Sex education in American schools has long been a highly debated subject. With abortion¹ no longer constitutionally protected, how sex and birth control methods are taught could seriously impact young people's futures² in the United States.

Additionally, without national guidelines, sex education varies widely across states and local school systems. Some states even ban the discussion of abortion, for example. Abortion is a medical operation that ends a pregnancy³. More than half of abortions⁴ in the United States are done with medication.

Comprehensive vs. abstinence

Some U.S. school systems teach what is called comprehensive sex education. The Guttmacher Institute is an organization that supports abortion rights. It defines comprehensive sex education as giving students "the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values they need to determine and enjoy their sexuality—physically and emotionally, individually and in relationships."

These programs teach students about contraceptive methods, as well as sexual and gender⁵ orientation⁶. Some programs also teach students about abortion.

However, schools in other U.S. states teach "abstinence-only" sex education. Abstinence is the practice of avoiding sex until marriage. Abstinence-only sex education stresses that waiting to have sex until marriage is the only sure way to avoid sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy.

Many abstinence-only programs do not teach students about contraceptives, or birth control methods, like condoms or pills. Other sex education programs teach about contraceptives but still stress abstinence as the safest method.

Debate over sex education

The nonprofit reproductive healthcare organization Planned Parenthood says there are seven states that ban abortion. In 12 states, abortion is legal but severely⁷ restricted. Eight other states have legalized abortion but restricted access.

Eva Goldfarb is a sex education researcher and professor of public health at Montclair State University. She said the states that ban or restrict abortion are usually the same ones that stress abstinence-only sex education.

"So the same people who want to limit access to abortion are also creating a situation in which there will be more unintended pregnancies⁸ and need for abortion," she said.

Christine Soyong Harley is the director of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), which supports comprehensive sex education.

She argued that abstinence programs pressure young people to avoid sex through misinformation. Abstinence-only programs lead students "to believe that if they engage in premarital sexual activity or if they identify as non-heterosexual, they will be found worthless by society."

Supporters of abstinence-based sex education however, point to some studies that support its effectiveness. But research from the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2016 found that "programs promoting abstinence-only until heterosexual marriage occurs are ineffective."

Ascend⁹ is a nonprofit group that supports abstinence-based sex education. It says that comprehensive models make teens feel pressured to have sex. The group also says that teens who have sex are more likely to do poorly in school, have decreased physical and mental health, and live in poverty. Ascend declined to comment for this story.

Penny Nance¹⁰ is the head of Concerned Women for America. The organization aims to "protect and promote" Christian¹¹ values and conservative beliefs. She told NPR that some sex education programs "are surrendering to the idea that teenagers will be sexually active. We, as a culture, can do better."

Educators' experience

Wendy Sellers is a sex educator in Michigan who advises the state's sex education advisory¹² boards. The boards, made up of parents and community members, set sex education study programs for school systems.

In Michigan, like in seven other states, it is against the law to talk about abortion in schools. Sellers said that if a student asks about abortion, teachers can only give a general answer. Teachers can explain that there are limits on what they are permitted to discuss in the classroom.

"I'm a big proponent¹³ of answering every question a student asks," Sellers added. "The law has always been problematic. Clearly, it's politically and religiously motivated to not answer questions about that topic."

Jamie Sebring teaches health and sex education in a middle school in Iowa, where abortion is permitted to be discussed in the classroom. But she said the subject is not part of the study program and is only discussed when a student asks a question about it.

"I don't bring it up and actively¹⁴ teach it ... because I've had parents bring that up quite a bit with me," she said. Sebring added that school officials avoid teaching the topic partly out of fear of upsetting students' parents.

Now that abortion is banned in some states, women and girls that seek abortions could face legal troubles. "I think that it is even more important for people who are living in states that have abortion bans to understand the laws related to accessing abortion care," Harley said.

Goldfarb, the Montclair State professor, said access to reliable and accurate information on sex and sexuality is more important than ever. She pointed¹⁵ out that states have moved to ban discussion of LGBTQ topics in schools, like Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law. Other states have introduced similar bills as well.

"There is an all-out assault on sex education that is much, much, much broader than just the abortion issue," Goldfarb said.

Words in This Story

comprehensive — adj. including many, most, or all things

attitude — n. the way you think and feel about someone or something

orientation — n. a person's feelings, interests, and beliefs

transmit — v. to cause to be given to others

access — n. a way of being able to use or get something

heterosexual — n. sexually attracted to people of the opposite sex

proponent — n. a person who argues for or supports something

motivate — v. to give (someone) a reason for doing something

topic — n. someone or something that people talk or write about

curriculum — n. the courses that are taught by a school, college, etc.

LGBTQ — adj. lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning one's sexual or gender identity

assault — n. a violent physical attack

1 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

2 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

3 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

4 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

5 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

6 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

7 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

8 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。

9 ascend   

vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上

参考例句：

• We watched the airplane ascend higher and higher.我们看着飞机逐渐升高。
• We ascend in the order of time and of development.我们按时间和发展顺序向上溯。

10 nance   

n.娘娘腔的男人，男同性恋者

参考例句：

• I think he's an awful nance.我觉得他这个人太娘娘腔了。
• He doesn't like to be called a nance.他不喜欢被叫做娘娘腔。

11 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

12 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

13 proponent   

n.建议者；支持者；adj.建议的

参考例句：

• Stapp became a strong early proponent of automobile seat belts.斯塔普是力主在汽车上采用座椅安全带的早期倡导者。
• Halsey was identified as a leading proponent of the values of progressive education.哈尔西被认为是进步教育价值观的主要支持者。

14 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

15 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。