Letter: Ignorance is not bliss

Editor, Daily News:

Discussions of abstinence-only programs may be acceptable coming from a pulpit, but you will rarely hear them from a knowledgeable public health officer, because such programs are clearly tied to rising sexually transmitted disease rates in teens and are therefore a threat to public health.

"Worth the Wait" programs, which discourage the comprehensive teaching of sex education, discourage the use of condoms. Since about half of all teens are, in fact, sexually active, this simply leads to sex without protection from serious diseases, including life-threatening AIDS.

Abstinence-only programs, while certainly providing complete protection when used, have been found at best to only delay somewhat the onset of sexual activity. There have been innumerable scientific medical studies here and abroad, including an excellent one in Texas in 2005, that prove this beyond doubt. The Texas Department of Health found ninth-grade girls were 5 percent and 10th-grade boys were 15 percent more likely to engage in sex after taking abstinence-only classes.

In a study by the National Institute of Child Health and Development, over 14,000 teens were interviewed. Fifty-two percent who took an abstinence pledge had sex within a year! Studies in Europe are even more convincing. Comprehensive sex education definitely promotes abstinence, but includes information concerning proper use of contraception, so teens' attitudes and abilities will prepare them for the time when they do become sexually active.

It does not encourage sexual activity. It discourages it. Knowledge is power. Ignorance leads to disease and disaster.

Allen Malnak, M.D. , Bonita Springs