By Bill Fancher
February 21, 2003

(AgapePress) - A recent Zogby International poll on parents' attitudes regarding sex-education programs found results that go against previous polls. Nearly three-fourths of parents said they favored abstinence-character based sex-ed programs for their children over current guidelines.

Groups that foster the "safe-sex" philosophy have dominated the sex-education programs in America's public schools for nearly three decades. Florida Republican Representative Dave Weldon, who is also a physician, says those groups have used misinformation to make it appear parents overwhelmingly support them.

"What you haven't heard is the dubious methods they have used to get their data," Weldon says. "They misuse polling numbers, then call for the elimination of different approaches, claiming that abstinence education is medically inaccurate."

Weldon says that attitude by the groups has led to the birth of more than 30 sexually transmitted diseases and 20 million infected teenagers -- who will remain infected for the rest of their lives.

The Zogby poll found that more than 75% disapprove of the current guidelines and nearly that same number prefer an abstinence, character-based curriculum. Family Research Council's Genevieve Wood says the results of the poll provide crucial information because parents are a key influence in their kids lives.

"Parents play a major role in whether their child will decide to have sex," Wood says. "Study after study [shows] that if a teenager perceives that their parents do not want them to engage in sexual behavior, they delay getting involved in sexual activity."

Wood says young people want their parents' guidance as they grow older, especially with the health dangers associated with sexual experiences.

"The majority of American teenagers say [they] want a strong message from American society telling [them] to abstain from sex until at least after high school," she says. "That same survey said 70% of the teens 'very much' need to hear that particular message."

The Coalition for Adolescent Sexual Health commissioned Zogby to conduct the poll on the current guidelines used in sex-ed programs in public schools. The poll is the first to use the actual guidelines in asking its questions of respondents. According to the Coalition, previous polls only dealt in generalities and vague questions.

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