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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Waiting to have sex simply smart for teens

Issac J. Bailey Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Sun News

Abstinence is the most healthful choice for teenagers.

That is the heart of the message the federal government, through a new Web site, www.4parents.gov, is promoting to help parents deal with sensitive issues with their teenagers.

No one can find anything wrong with that sentiment, can they? No one would protest a message as clear as the day is long, right?

No one – except organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Education Association, the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, and more than 100 other advocacy groups. According to the Associated Press, they are asking the Health and Human Services Department to take down the site.

It’s dictating values, they said. I, too, cringe when the government tries to dictate “values.”

But when it is promoting common sense – such as the older you are when you become sexually active, the healthier you will be – I won’t dare protest.

The groups have a few good points, including the need for a more comprehensive message about contraceptives and other strategies for teenagers who are sexually active.

But that doesn’t mean we should water down the truth, that abstinence is the most healthful choice for teenagers.

That doesn’t mean we should give more credence to the lie that products such as condoms allow teenagers to have “safe sex.” Safer sex, maybe.

Safer as in a lowered risk of sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy when used properly – every time. But not safe, as in a complete elimination of the threat of such diseases or an assorted list of other maladies.

We don’t have to send a mixed message to include comprehensive sex education.

We don’t have to deny the truth because many adults experimented with sex in their younger years without creating unwanted pregnancies or contracting ugly diseases or an irreparably damaged self-image, even as many of those around them succumbed to such realities.

We don’t have to lie to ourselves or our teenagers.

Here’s the truth:

Abstinence – which includes avoiding oral and “outer” sex – is the most healthful choice for teenagers. And the further teenagers walk away from that truth, the less safe they’ll be.