John Kerry's position on

Sex Education: According to an NPR poll from February of this year, the debate isn't whether sex education should be taught, but in what form. Fifteen percent of Americans believe that schools should teach only about abstinence from sexual intercourse and should not provide information on how to obtain and use condoms and other contraception. A plurality (46 percent) believes that the most appropriate approach is one that might be called "abstinence-plus" &endash; that while abstinence is best, some teens do not abstain, so schools also should teach about condoms and contraception. Thirty-six percent believe that abstinence is not the most important thing, and that sex ed. should focus on teaching teens how to make responsible decisions about sex. NPR

Additionally, the House passed on Sept. 8th bill HR 5006, which not only keeps the $500 million funding (passed in 2002 for five years) to abstinence-only programs, but now "prohibits funds under this Act from being made available under title X (population research and voluntary family planning) of PHSA, unless the award applicant certifies to the Secretary of HHS that it encourages family participation in the decision of minors to seek family planning services and provides counseling to minors on resisting attempts to coerce them into engaging in sexual activities"; in other words, doesn't allow any other family planning centers to get this money unless their purpose is to teach the abstinence-only concept. From House of Representatives

Description of candidate's position: Kerry is a strong supporter of the LGBTA (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Association) with regards to sex education. His claims on their behalf include that abstinence-only education marginalizes LGBT youth because it tells them they should wait to have sex until marriage &endash; which is prohibited by law; and that recipients of abstinence-only funding must agree not to provide any information inconsistent with abstinence-till-marriage message meaning that safe sex, HIV and AIDS, and LGBT issues are often excluded. Kerry also says that the administration's ideological emphasis on abstinence-only prevention strategies does nothing to help the majority of women and adolescent girls in those countries who are already married and are at risk of infection for HIV. However, he has no concrete policy or opposing position except to say that as President, he would focus on scientific data and less on politics. From the Kerry campaign website

Quotation from the candidate: {John Kerry has not mentioned his stance in a speech or remarks to the press, but his daughter, Vanessa Kerry, spoke on the issue at an AIDS conference in Atlanta.} "It's extraordinary we still have to wage the battles we are as far as policy is concerned. The fact the current administration is letting ideology control the debate over science is what makes me saddest. My father says we need the courage to be realistic, on what young people are doing or what anybody is doing. Some are worried if you're going to use the word condom, of if you don't use the word abstinence. It doesn't have to be one or the other &emdash; it can be both."

Assessment of the proposal:

Positive: The Planned Parenthood Action Fund &endash; who until now has never publicly endorsed a presidential candidate &endash; is endorsing Kerry based on the organization's dislike of the Bush administration's abstinence-only policies, which the "voluntary reproductive health care organization" claims is unproven preaching.

Negative: Since everyone is assuming Kerry favors the comprehensive method of teaching sex education, the Coalition for Adolescent Sexual Health disagrees and cites evidence that parents, when given the "facts" about the comprehensive method, disapprove of the method and favor abstinence-only at a margin of 2 to 1.

Comparison: In his State of the Union address in January (excerpt below), Bush urged Congress to drastically increase funding for "abstinence-only" programs in schools. Although in February, Secretary of State Colin Powell encouraged the use of condoms during an HIV/AIDS forum, the administration quickly assured the public that Powell was talking about the "already sexually active" community, and that both Powell's and Bush's views on abstinence-only programs were in line with each other. And in July at the International AIDS conference, many countries tended to link the U.S.'s refusal to donate to the global AIDS fund (despite a private $15 billion contribution by the U.S. to certain countries) with their abstinence-only policies.

Link to Bush's issue brief