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Surgeon General Seeks
Scientific Approach to Sex-Education


Compiled By GayToday

Surgeon General David Satcher Washington, D.C.--The key findings in Surgeon General David Satcher's comprehensive report on sex education, urging our nation's leaders to let science guide public policy, has been hailed by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC).

"The Bush administration," says HRC, "should promptly adopt many of the report's sound guidelines and make them a standard part of national discussions on public health."

"Two years of scientific research has resulted in a highly scientific report by the nation's top doctor that will save lives," said HRC Political Director Winnie Stachelberg.

"We urge the administration to immediately adopt the more science-based guidelines and let them serve as a policy roadmap for improving public health in America."

The report, The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Behavior, calls on America to respect "the diversity of sexual values within any community" and recommends a "mature and thoughtful discussion about sexuality." It advises that sex education begin early, be wide-ranging and available throughout one's life.

The report says there is no evidence that "abstinence-only" programs are effective and that curriculum should explain how to prevent unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. Improving access to reproductive health care services for "all persons in the community" is recommended. Additionally, the report discusses the consequences of harassment on the mental health of gays and lesbians and says there is no scientific evidence that one's sexual orientation can be changed.

"In their extreme form, anti-homosexual attitudes lead to anti-gay violence," the report says. "Averaged over two dozen studies, 80 percent of gay men and lesbians had experienced verbal or physical harassment on the basis of sexual orientation, 45 percent had been threatened by violence and 17 percent had experienced physical attack."

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Related Sites:
Surgeon Genreal's Office

Human Rights Campaign
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Improved medicine has allowed people with HIV to live longer and healthier lives. But 40,000 new infections are reported each year - and half of them occur in people under age 25. About 750,000 HIV/AIDS cases have been reported in America since the discovery of the disease and nearly 450,000 people have died from HIV/AIDS-related illnesses.

"These are welcome recommendations because if we do not begin to talk openly and honestly, a new generation will be at risk," said Stachelberg. "Too many young people think recent advances in HIV fighting drugs mean the epidemic is over. This report will help teach these young Americans the dangers of diseases such as HIV and ways to prevent contracting them."

Satcher's report also includes a wide-array of recommendations to improve public health including:

  • Providing adequate training in sexual health for health care professionals.

  • Ensuring the availability of programs that aim to prevent sexual abuse.

  • Stressing the value and benefits of remaining abstinent until involved in a committed, enduring and mutually monogamous relationship.

  • Developing and disseminating - for use by parents, clergy and teachers - educational materials for sex-ed classes that cover the "full continuum of human sexual development".




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