It is great that President Obama has removed funding for abstinence-only education in his budget! This is great news and it is amazing that we have come this far for comprehensive sex education. Not only has absitnence-only education been proven by numerous studies to be ineffective, it is also harmful to LGBTQ youth. I thought that this would be a great time to include yet another reason why abstinence only education does not work - it stigmatizes LGBTQ youth. LGBTQ youth already face many challenges in school, from bullying and harassment, so why should they also face stigma in sex-ed class? 

Here are some typical quotes from abstinence only education work books regarding homosexuality:

“The word sex is frequently used to refer to the physical and personal act of male and
female genital union, sexual intercourse.”
--Sex Respect (Student Workbook, pg 6)

“Finally, AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), the STD most common among homosexual, bisexuals and IV drug users, has now made its way into heterosexual circles.”
- Sex Respect (Student Workbook, p. 54)

Abstinence only education has been proven to be quite limited in its discussion of LGBTQ issues. For a start, the very definition of the federally-funded abstinence only education program excludes LGBTQ youth: 

"An eligible abstinence education program is one that:
a) has as its exclusive purpose, teaching the social, psychological, and health gains to be realized by abstaining from sexual activity;
b) teaches abstinence from sexual activity outside marriage as the expected standard for all school-age children;
c) teaches that abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain way to avoid out-of-wedlock pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and other associated health problems;
d) teaches that a mutually faithful monogamous relationship in the context of marriage is the expected standard of human sexual activity;
e) teaches that sexual activity outside the context of marriage is likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects;
f) teaches that bearing children out-of-wedlock is likely to have harmful consequences for the child, the child's parents, and society;
g) teaches young people how to reject sexual advances and how alcohol and drug use increase vulnerability to sexual advances;
h) teaches the importance of attaining self-sufficiency before engaging in sexual activity."

"“If condoms were effective against STDs, it would be reasonable to expect that an increase in condom usage would correlate to a decrease in STDs overall — which is not the case. Rather, as condom usage has increased, so have rates of STDs.

Another states:

“[T]he popular claim that ‘condoms help prevent the spread of STDs,’ is not supported by the data."

How are LGBTQ youth supposed to want to use condoms to protect themselves when they are reported as being ineffective for protection against STDs?  One abstinence only curriculum states: 

"“The actual ability of condoms to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS even if the product is intact, is not definitively known.”

I spoke recently with a young man who experienced abstinence only education.  He said that his abstinence only education was "horrible". He had this to say about his sex education: "We were taught that we were above everyone else and we didn't need to know what to do ... because we were not going to have sex".  Well, like many teens across the nation, he did. And he found himself utterly unprepared. He thought, "Can I get an STD from oral sex? What do I do now?". He feels that abstinence only education "is not the way to go". I could not agree more.

It is clear then that abstinence only education is failing LGBTQ youth by stigmatizing them,ignoring them and presenting inaccurate information about condoms. It is no surprise then that we get testimony like Max Siegel's. It is up to us as advocates to make sure that we can leave abstinence only education in the past and make sure that we can get as much funding as possible for comprehensive education.

TAKE ACTION: 
1. Educate yourself about the failures of abstinence only education
2. Read more about how abstinence only education fails youth especially LGBTQ youth.
3. Take ACTION against abstinence only education, use this easy form to write a letter.
4. Read more about Max Siegel, an LGBTQ young man against abstinence only education.
5. Read more about LGBTQ youth
6. Take ACTION to make your school safe for LGBTQ youth
7. Read ACCURATE reproductive health about LGBTQ people from the CDC 
8. Join Amplify's campaign for Equal Rights