NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Adrienne Kimmell, 941.923.5500
July 20, 2009
HEALTHY TEENS CAMPAIGN CALLS FOR EVIDENCE-BASED SEX EDUCATION IN RESPONSE TO CDC STUDY
Florida has 5th highest rate of new HIV infections; 6th highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation
Sarasota, FL — In response to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report released on Friday, Florida’s Healthy Teens Campaign calls for statewide standards for sex education to ensure that Florida teens have comprehensive sex education that is age-appropriate, including the facts that help protect them from diseases that threaten their health.
CDC’s latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) examines the sexual health of young adults and teenagers in the U.S. and reveals that many young people in the United States engage in sexual risk behavior and experience negative reproductive health outcomes. For the report, CDC compiled data from several different studies involving hundreds of thousands of teenagers and young adults age 10 to 25. Among other findings, the data indicated that AIDS rates among boys age 15 to 19 increased from 1.3 cases per 100,000 in 1997 to 2.5 cases in 2006. The report also said that new HIV and AIDS diagnoses were highest among young African-Americans across all age groups. Further, the findings showed that about one-third of adolescents hadn’t received instruction on methods of birth control before age 18.
“The latest CDC report should serve as a wake-up call for Florida policy makers,” said Adrienne Kimmell, Healthy Teens Campaign member and executive director of the Florida Association of Planned Parenthood Affiliates. “Abstinence-only programs are failing our teens. We agree with President Obama that it’s time to move forward with commonsense policies and evidence-based programs that achieve our shared goals of effectively preventing unintended pregnancies and the spread of disease.”
Florida has the third highest rate in the nation of new AIDS diagnoses and the fifth highest rate of new HIV infections. In Florida, AIDS-related illnesses are the 9th leading cause of death for teens. In 2007, persons under the age of 25 accounted for 15 percent of new HIV infections in the state. Florida has the 6th highest teen birth rate in the nation. Florida’s teen birth rate also increased in 2006 for the first time in 15 years and is 3 percent higher than the national average.
While Florida continues to have some of the worst sexual health outcomes in the country, there are still no statewide standards for sex education. According to a 2007 University of Florida study, Florida teens are getting too little information, too late. A recent report by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) and the Healthy Teens Campaign found that abstinence-only programs in Florida provide inaccurate and outdated information, reinforce gender stereotypes, and rely on fear and shame-based tactics to discourage sexual activity. Numerous studies have analyzed abstinence-only programs and found them to be ineffective.
President Barack Obama has consistently supported comprehensive and age-appropriate sex education. President Obama’s budget rejects failed abstinence-only programs that have cost our government more than $1 billion and, instead, invests in evidence-based sex education programs that have been proven effective.
“We know that too many Florida schools don’t give students the facts they need. We need to change that by passing the Healthy Teens Act,” added Kimmell. “Our youth need comprehensive sex education that is age-appropriate, including the facts that help protect them from unintended pregnancy and the spread of disease.”
The Healthy Teens Act requires Florida public schools that already teach information about sexually transmitted infections, family planning, and pregnancy to provide medically-accurate and comprehensive sex education – including facts about abstinence and methods of preventing unintended pregnancy and the spread of diseases.
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Healthy Teens Campaign is a broad-based group of over 97 public health, faith-based, education, and medical organizations working together to advocate for comprehensive sex education in Florida public schools to improve the health and safety of Florida teens. www.HealthyTeensFlorida.org
