Sounding Board -- Jon Dunn

I would like to reassure Joel Faris (Sounding Board, “Sex education

really ought to start at home,” May 26) that Planned Parenthood is doing

all it can to help teenagers and parents of teenagers to communicate with

one another about pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease prevention.

Yes, Costa Mesa is what is referred to as a “hot spot” for teen

pregnancy (a zip code or census tract that exhibits a higher teen birth

rate than the California state average). It’s for this reason we

established a clinic in Costa Mesa. Planned Parenthood has made a

commitment to the city of Costa Mesa to help teenagers make informed

decisions.

Planned Parenthood and Faris appear to have the same belief that

parents should be the primary source of information to their children.

That is why our educational programs provide parents of teenagers with

all the necessary tools to help them communicate with their teens. We

believe that the more informed parents are, the easier it will be for

them to communicate to their teens. Contrary to what Faris purports, a

recent study revealed that 82% of parents supported comprehensive sex

education in schools.

Studies also cite the effectiveness of comprehensive sex education

programs (American Medical Assn. Journal and Kaiser Family Foundation.)

These studies reported that teenagers exposed to comprehensive sex

education show a delayed onset of sexual activity, fewer unintended

pregnancies, fewer STDs and are more likely to be in monogamous

relationships. To my knowledge, no studies support the same benefits of

abstinence-only programs.

I think Faris underestimates teenagers. Yes, they are exposed to

sexual content daily on television, in music, in magazines and in the

movies. That should not constitute the entire basis of their sexual

education. Without a comprehensive program, either at home or at school,

teenagers will continue to be misinformed and ill-prepared to make one of

life’s most important decisions.

I truly believe that an abstinence-only approach to sexual education

is an awfully high price for a teenager to pay simply because you don’t

want them to have the facts. In this case, ignorance is not bliss.

* JON DUNN is the president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood.