ReligionLink

The debate on how best to teach youth about sex is polarizing the nation. Everyone wants to reduce teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease – and everyone agrees that abstinence would do that. But parents, medical professionals, religious groups and policy-makers are locked in fierce debate about what information to include in public schools’ sex education programs. Religious and social conservatives back the federal government’s emphasis on abstinence and say it is the best way to reduce teen pregnancy. Major medical associations, health professionals and other religious groups generally support what’s known as comprehensive sex education, which includes teaching about contraception as well as abstinence. Most surveys show that parents and teens prefer comprehensive sex education. Keys to the debate are the effectiveness and accuracy of programs and whether abstinence-only instruction imposes religious beliefs on public school students.

Both sides claim credit for falling teen pregnancy rates, yet the United States still has the highest teen pregnancy rate among developed nations, and rates are highest among minorities. Both sides also acknowledge that the success of sex education has dire consequences for individual teens and for society.

What’s new

• The first comprehensive government study on the effectiveness of abstinence-only education programs, delayed since 2004, is due out later in 2006. Proponents hope the study will offer solid evidence of abstinence-only education’s effectiveness. Opponents hope the study will confirm their claim that there is no scientific evidence that abstinence-only education reduces pregnancy rates or sexual activity.
• The South Dakota and Kansas legislatures are considering proposals on sex-education requirements. (See a Jan. 25, 2006, Associated Press story about South Dakota and a Feb. 3, 2006, Lawrence Journal-World story about Kansas.)
• The U.S. government continues to increase funding for abstinence-only education and requires states to teach abstinence only in order to receive funds. In November 2005, Maine joined California and Pennsylvania in rejecting thousands of federal dollars in favor of teaching comprehensive sex education. (See a Nov. 29, 2005, Stateline.org story.)
• The ACLU has a 2005 lawsuit pending against the U.S. government, accusing it of financing the religious activities of Silver Ring Thing, a national program that provides abstinence-only education. In 2002, the state of Louisiana settled a lawsuit in which the ACLU asked it to stop funding abstinence-only programs with religious content.
 

Why it matters

Moral and religious values are central to the sex education debate, and both sides have found allies among religious groups. Studies show that teens who are involved in congregations are less likely to have sex or become pregnant. The cost to society is significant. Young mothers are more likely to have babies who die, to drop out of school, end up on welfare or in low-paying jobs, and to have children with health and learning problems.

Questions for reporters

• What is the content of public school sex education programs in your area? Have abstinence-only programs increased?
• What groups are involved in the sex education debate?
• Have teen pregnancy rates in your area dropped, as they have nationally? Among what groups? What factors are cited?
• What is the financial and social cost of teen pregnancies to your community?
• What do students, parents, teachers, counselors, health professionals and clergy say is the most effective way to reduce teen pregnancy? Do parents and students think sex education is best taught at school, at home or through a place of worship?
• Are congregations providing sex education to members? What is the content?
• Are the groups that provide abstinence-only sex education in public schools in your area religious or secular? How much has their funding increased in the past three years?
• Have there been concerns that abstinence-only programs bring a religious message into schools? What groups are working to prevent that from happening?
 

Background

• Read a history of abstinence-only sex education and government funding from the National Coalition to Support Sexuality Education.
 

LEGAL

• Read an Aug. 24, 2005, Associated Press story about the government stopping funding of a national program that teaches abstinence-only sex education after the ALCU filed a lawsuit against the group, saying it promoted religion in public schools.
• Read the Roundtable on Religion & Social Welfare Policy’s analysis of ACLU of Massachusetts v. Leavitt.
• Read a June 27, 2005, Associated Press story about a judge dismissing a new challenge to Louisiana’s abstinence education program.

GOVERNMENT

The government promotes and funds abstinence-only sex education in several ways:

• A June 9, 2004, update on the U.S. government’s Abstinence Education Project includes links to past grant winners throughout the country, a fact sheet on government funding of abstinence programs and government contact information.
• The White House web site describes abstinence-only grant programs.
• See the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ state-by-state list of abstinence-education program grant recipients for fiscal 2004. (Fiscal 2005 recipients are not posted.)
• The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy published a chart of the various bills through which abstinence-only sex education is funded nationally and in the states, including proposals for 2006 funding.
• See a chart of states’ sex education requirements, posted by the Guttmacher Institute.
 

STUDIES

• Read a backgrounder on the current U.S. government study that is evaluating abstinence-only sex education. Results, delayed since 2004, are due in 2006. The backgrounder is provided by Mathematica, a social policy research firm. The backgrounder lists the study’s investigators with contact information and the programs in nine states that are being evaluated.
• Read a June 2005 interim U.S. government report on the first-year impact of four abstinence-only education programs.
• In January 2006 Journal of Adolescent Health published a review of U.S. sex education policies and programs, concluding that the government’s push for abstinence-only education is “morally problematic” and threatens teens’ human rights to “health, education and life.”
• Read a Jan. 9, 2006, Chicago Sun-Times article about a study that showed that young teen couples who do not have sex have a higher level of satisfaction with their relationships than those who do. The study was funded by the U.S. government.
• Read a Feb. 1, 2005, Reuters story about a research study that showed that abstinence-only sex education had no impact on the sexual behavior of Texas public school students. Read a Medical Institute report challenging this study.
• A 2003 survey by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy found that 94 percent of adults and 92 percent of teens believe it is important that society give teens a strong message not to have sex until they are at least out of high school. Six in 10 teens and three-quarters of adults wish teens were getting more information about abstinence and contraception rather than just one or the other. And 34 percent of teens say their own morals, values, religious beliefs and concerns about their future influence their decisions about sex more than concerns about pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases.
• Read the SIECUS report “Five Years of Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Education: Assessing the Impact.”
• Read a November/December 2003 report on factors, including religion, affecting the content of sex education in U.S. public schools. It appeared in Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health and is posted by the Alan Guttmacher Institute.

STATISTICS

• Read a Sept. 15, 2005, report from the national Center for Health Statistics that includes figures on sexual behavior among U.S. teens. It says, among other things, that 25 percent of 15-year-old boys have had vaginal intercourse, and the figure jumps to 62 percent for 18-year-old males. The corresponding figures for girls were 26 percent and 70 percent, respectively.
• Read a federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report published in December 2004 on teenage sexual activity and contraceptive use.
• Read a CDC fact sheet on preliminary births data for 2004. It says that teen births declined again that year, but at a much slower pace than observed since the declines started after 1991.
 

NEWS ARTICLES & TRANSCRIPTS

• Read a Nov. 29, 2005, Stateline.org story about Maine’s decision to reject $160,000 in federal 2006 funding for abstinence-only education in favor of continuing to teach comprehensive sex education.
• Read an Oct. 17, 2005, U.S. News and World Report article that asks whether schools are giving students too much – or too little – information about sexual matters. The magazine says California, Pennsylvania and, most recently, Maine have turned down federal money for abstinence-only curricula so they can teach what they believe is best.
• Read a July 5, 2005, Associated Press story, “Doctors denounce abstinence-only education.” It’s posted by MSNBC.
• Listen to a June 14, 2005, National Public Radio report about results from the first major national study of abstinence-only education.
• Read a PBS transcript, posted in April 2005, of a discussion about sex education with obstetrician/gynecologist Joe S. McIlhaney Jr. Dr. McIlhaney founded the nonprofit Medical Institutes for Sexual Health, which has worked on pro-abstinence programs with the Bush administration and faith-based groups.
• Read a PBS transcript, posted in April 2005, of a discussion about virginity pledges with Columbia University researcher Peter Bearman. Bearman helped design and direct the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, described as the largest and most comprehensive survey of teens ever done. He is director of the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy and the Paul F. Lazarsfeld Center for the Social Sciences at Columbia, as well as chairman of the university’s sociology department.
Read a Dec. 2, 2004, Washington Post story about a congressional report that found inaccuracies in some government-funded sex education programs that teach abstinence only.

POLLS

• “Sex Education in America,” a January 2004 report from the Kaiser Family Foundation, National Public Radio and the John F. Kennedy School of Government, found that 15 percent of Americans want abstinence-only sex education taught in schools, and 46 percent want abstinence taught along with contraception. Only 7 percent said they did not think sex education should be taught in schools.
• A Jan. 28, 2004, Zogby poll of more than 1,000 parents found that 68 percent want schools to teach teens that abstinence is best and 40 percent thought abstinence and contraception should be taught in the same class.
• A Scripps Howard Texas Poll commissioned by Protect Our Kids found that 90 percent of respondents favor teaching public school students with age-appropriate, medically accurate sex education that includes information on abstinence.
• “Faith Matters: Teenagers, Religion and Sexuality” found that 12th graders involved in faith-based institutions were about half as likely to have had sex as those who were not. The percentage drops by half again for teens who are especially involved and say they have a deep personal faith. The survey of 5,800 teenagers from Roman Catholic, Unitarian Universalist, Jewish, and Islamic traditions and 38 Protestant denominations was conducted between 2000 and 2002 by the Christian Community.
• A poll released Aug. 3, 2005, by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found that 78 percent of Americans favor allowing public schools to provide students with birth control information while 76 percent believe schools should teach teenagers to abstain from sex until marriage. Solid majorities in every major religious group said schools should be allowed to provide students with information on birth control methods, but 30 percent of white evangelical Protestants were opposed. Among 18- to 24-year-olds, 83 percent said schools should offer birth control information and 75 percent said schools should teach teenagers to abstain from sex until marriage.
 

National sources

See a Nov. 8, 2004, ReligionLink tip, “Texas textbook vote has national implications,” for national and regional sources engaged in debates over how sexual education is taught in public schools.
 

GOVERNMENT

• Wade Horn is assistant secretary of the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and founder of the National Fatherhood Initiative. Contact 202-401-2337, whorn@acf.hss.gov.
• Jeffrey Trimbath is director of the Health and Human Services abstinence-education program. Contact 202-401-9205, JTrimbath@acf.hhs.gov.
• Patricia Thompson coordinated the government’s Abstinence Education Evaluation Conference in November 2005 in Baltimore. The agenda lists speakers from organizations and national and state government. Contact 240-453-2835, pthompson@osophs.dhhs.gov.
 

FOR COMPREHENSIVE SEX EDUCATION

 RESEARCHERS
• Patricia Donovan is vice president for public education for the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a proponent of comprehensive sex education. Contact Rebecca Wind, 212-248-1111 ext. 2203, rwind@guttmacher.org.
• Tina Hoff is vice president of Entertainment Media Partnerships for the Kaiser Family Foundation, an independent organization that researches health care issues and policies. With the Entertainment Media Partnerships, the Foundation partners with media organizations to develop public education campaigns on a variety of health issues, especially reaching young people with information about HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Contact 650-854-9400.
• Joseph DiNorcia Jr. is president and CEO of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States. The organization favors comprehensive sex education but is highly critical of current sex education curricula in the nation’s public schools. Contact SIECUS communications director Adrienne Verrilli, 212-819-9770 ext. 325, averrilli@siecus.org.

RELIGIOUS
• The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice was formed in 1973 to safeguard the right to abortion. Its mission has expanded to include campaigning for comprehensive sex education. RCRC is an alliance of 40 national faith organizations and 27 state affiliates. Its programs include Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom. Contact president and CEO the Rev. Carlton W. Veazey in Washington, D.C., 202-628-7700, or director of communications Marjorie Signer, 202-628-7700 ext. 12, msigner@rcrc.org.
• The Black Church Initiative of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice helps African-American clergy and congregations address teen sexuality issues. It sponsors the National Black Religious Summit on Sexuality; Keeping It Real, a dialogue model; Breaking the Silence, a curriculum for local congregations. Contact 202-628-7700, bciinfo@rcrc.org.
• The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy has a Religion and Public Values Program. It provides resources and training to help congregations and faith groups address teen pregnancy. Contact Andrea Kane, akane@teenpregnancy.org.
• The Rev. Debra W. Haffner, a Unitarian Universalist minister with a master’s in public health is director of the Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice and Healing, which advocates for comprehensive sex education in faith communities and society. It supports the Religious Declaration on Sexual Morality, Justice and Healing. It is based in Norwalk, Conn. Contact 203-840-1148.
• The Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Church of Christ collaborated on a sexuality curriculum called Our Whole Lives for five age groups, from kindergarten through adults. It uses a comprehensive approach to preventing pregnancy. The curriculum contains no religious references or doctrine, but a companion publication, Sexuality and Our Faith, does and can be used with it. Contact 617-742-2100.
• The United Methodist Church has faith-based curricula that uses a comprehensive approach to sex education. Contact MaryJane Pierce Norton, director of family ministries for the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church, in Nashville 615-340-7170, mnorton@gbod.org.
• The Central Conference of American Rabbis passed a resolution in 2001 calling for comprehensive sex education and rejecting government funds for abstinence-only programs. The group represents Reform Judaism rabbis. Contact Alexis Rice or Mark Pelavint of the Union for Reform Judiasm, which handles press for the conference, 202-387-2800, 202-487-7017.
 

SECULAR ORGANIZATIONS
• The National Coalition to Support Sexuality Education posts a list of 140 organizations — medical, social and religious – which support comprehensive sex education. Contact 202-265-2405.
• Sarah Brown is director of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy in Washington, D.C. Contact 202-478-8510.
Cecile Richards is president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which posts a page on abstinence-only sex education. Contact through Gustavo Suarez at 212-261-4339 or Erin Kiernon, 202-973-4975.
• James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, a national, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that creates programs and supports policies to help young people make responsible decisions about sex. Contact Bill Barker, 202-419-3420, bill@advocatesforyouth.org.
• Barnaby B. Barratt, a sex therapist from Southfield, Mich., is president of the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists, based in Virginia. Contact 248-737-3984, bbbarratt@earthlink.net.
• Kirsten Moore is president of the Reproductive Health Technologies Project in Washington, D.C. Contact 202-557-3417.
• Judith Auerbach is vice president for public policy of the American Foundation for AIDS Research. Contact Bennah Serfaty, 212-806-1607.
 

LEGAL
• Louise Melling is director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Reproductive Freedom Project. The project looks at sex education programs in schools. Contact Lorraine Kenny, 212-549-2634.
 

FOR ABSTINENCE-ONLY EDUCATION

RESEARCHERS
• The Abstinence Educators’ Network is a resource for abstinence educators at the junior high and high school levels. Contact 513-398-9801.
• Leslee Unruh is founder and president of the national Abstinence Clearinghouse in Sioux Falls, S.D. Contact 605-335-3643.
• Dr. Joe S. McIlhaney Jr., an obstetrician/gynecologist, is founder and chairman of the nonprofit Medical Institutes for Sexual Health, which has worked on pro-abstinence programs with the Bush administration and faith-based groups. Contact 512-328-6268, medinstitute@medinstitute.org.
• Robert Rector is senior research fellow for domestic policy studies at the Heritage Foundation. He says abstinence is the only solution to teen pregnancy. Contact Khris Bershers, director of media services, 202-608-6148 or 202-439-4986, KhrisBershers@heritage.org.

SECULAR
• LeAnna Benn is national director of Teen-Aid, a nonprofit organization started in 1981 to try to reduce teen pregnancies. The group, based in Spokane, Wash., believes the best method is abstinence education. It lists laws and statistics pertaining to sexuality, education and government funding for all 50 states. Contact 509-482-2868.
• Anita Smith is vice president and co-founder of the nonprofit Institute for Youth Development, which promotes a risk avoidance message that includes sexual abstinence. Contact Debra Arrington, 703-471-8750 ext. 124.

RELIGIOUS
• Susan E. Wills is associate director for education for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ pro-life activities, which promotes abstinence-only education. Contact 202-541-3070.
• True Love Waits is a ministry of Lifeway Christian Resources, which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. It is an international campaign to keep teens and college students abstinent until marriage. Since its inception in 1993, more than a million teens have signed covenant cards promising to be abstinent until marriage. Contact 1-800-LUV-WAIT, truelovewaits@lifeway.com.
• Worth Waiting For is a Christian ministry that teaches abstinence until marriage. It provides local campaigns for communities and a Fearless Love curriculum for churches. Contact director of ministries Linda Klepacki, a registered nurse with a master’s in public health, lindak@worthwaitingfor.org.
• Linda Klepacki is manager of the abstinence department for Focus on the Family. The group supports the Bush administration’s funding for abstinence-only programs and its web site posts links to resources and studies. Contact Christopher Norfleet, 719-548-4570.
• Genevieve Wood is communications director for the Family Research Council. Contact 202-393-2100 or 703-338-5602.
• Andrea Lafferty is executive director of the Traditional Values Coalition. Contact Amy Skeen, 202-547-8570.
• Lanier Swann is director of government relations for Concerned Women for America, which posts a page supporting abstinence-only education. Contact 202-488-7000.
• David Stevens is the executive director of the Christian Medical Association, the nation’s largest faith-based organization of doctors. It is based in Bristol, Tenn. Contact 423-844-1000.
 

Regional sources

IN THE NORTHEAST

• The Rev. Sheryl A. Kujawa is an associate professor of pastoral theology at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass. She is an expert on adolescents and sexuality. She wrote the chapter “How Might We Teach Our Children?” for the book Our Selves, Our Souls and Bodies: Sexuality and the Household of God (Cowley Publications, 1996). Contact 617-868-3450 ext. 344, skujawa@episdivschool.edu.
• Janice Irvine is a sociology professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is the author of Talk About Sex: The Battles Over Sex Education in the United States (University of California Press, 2002). Contact 413-545-2926, irvine@soc.umass.edu.
• Nancy Faust Sizer is an adjunct lecturer on education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She co-wrote The Students Are Watching: Schools and the Moral Contract (Beacon Press, 2000). Contact 617-495-9766, nsizer@parker.org.

IN THE EAST

• Susan D. Rose is a professor of sociology at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa. She wrote contributed to the book Fundamentalisms and Society (University of Chicago Press, 1993), which includes a section on Christian fundamentalism and public education. She also wrote the article “The Sexual Politics of the Religious Right: Sex-Ed and the Public Schools” for the Journal of Religion & Education (1996). Contact 717-245-1244, rose@dickinson.edu.
• Melissa Deckman is assistant professor of political science at Washington College in Chestertown, Md. She wrote School Board Battles: The Christian Right in Local Politics (Georgetown University Press, 2004) and “Christian Right School Board Candidates” for the Encyclopedia of American Religion and Politics (Facts on File, 2003). Contact 800-422-1782 ext. 7494, mdeckman2@washcoll.edu.
• Richard Parker is a sociology professor at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in New York. He also is a co-chairman of the International Working Group on Sexuality and Social Policy, an association of researchers and other professionals. The group released a report citing examples of what it called “sex policing” under the Bush administration. Contact 212-305-3616, rgp11@columbia.edu.
• The D.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy has a “Have Faith in Youth Initiative” that highlights the role faith and faith communities play in preventing teen pregnancy. Contact Brenda Rhodes Miller, 202-789-4666, bmiller@teenpregnancydc.org.
• The ADAMS (All Dulles Area Muslim Society) Center in Herndon, Va., offers a Saturday youth program for Muslim teens that includes instruction on staying abstinent until marriage. Contact Principal Shad Imam, 571-235-4279, shadimam@yahoo.com.

IN THE SOUTHEAST

• Warren A. Nord is director of the Program for Humanities and Human Values at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He co-authored Taking Religion Seriously Across the Curriculum (Association for Supervision and Curricular Development, 1998). Contact 919-843-9386, wnord@email.unc.edu.
• Eugene F. Provenzo Jr. is a professor of education at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla. He wrote Religious Fundamentalism and American Education: The Battle for the Public Schools (State University of New York Press, 1990). Contact 305-284-5102, provenzo@miami.edu.
• Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan is a professor of theology and women’s studies at Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C. She is an expert on ethics and morality and wrote the article “Expanding Classroom Walls” for the Journal of Women and Religion. Contact 919-716-5522, cduggan@shawu.edu.
• Melinda Bollar Wagner is a professor of anthropology at Radford University in Radford, Va. She wrote God’s Schools: Choice and Compromise in American Society (Rutgers University Press, 1991). Contact 540-831-5615, mwagner@runet.edu.

IN THE SOUTH

• Steven Nagy is a professor of health studies at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. He is an expert on teen issues, including sex education. Contact 205-348-8373, snagy@ches.ua.edu.
• Gladys Johnson Hildreth is chairwoman of the Department of Family Studies at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. She advocates talking honestly to youth about sex. Contact 859-257-7781, gjhild2@pop.uky.edu.
• Michael Young is a professor of health science at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock. He is the developer of an abstinence curriculum called “Sex Can Wait.” Contact 479-575-4139, meyoung@uark.edu.

IN THE MIDWEST

• James Maddock is a professor of family social science at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis-St. Paul. He wrote Sexuality Education in Postsecondary and Professional Training Settings (Haworth Press, 1997). Contact 612-624-1281, jmaddock@che.umn.edu.
• Martha May McCarthy is a professor of educational leadership and policy studies at Indiana University in Bloomington. She is an expert on religion and public education and wrote “Religious Influences in Public Education: Political and Judicial Developments” in Educational Forum (2000) and “People of Faith as Political Activists in Public Schools” in Education and Urban Society (1996). Contact 812-856-8384, mccarthy@indiana.edu.
• Fritz Detwiler is a professor of religion and philosophy at Adrian College in Adrian, Mich. He wrote Standing on the Premises of God: The Christian Right’s Fight to Redefine America’s Public Schools (New York University Press, 1999). Contact 517-264-3960, fdetwiler@adrian.edu.
• David Sikkink is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Notre Dame. He is an expert on religion and public school education. Most recently, he wrote “Religion and Education” for the forthcoming book Handbook on Religion and Social Institutions (Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers). Contact 574-631-3166, dsikkink@nd.edu.
• LaVome Robinson is a professor of psychology at DePaul University in Chicago. She is an expert on teen pregnancy and adolescent violence. She has conducted a large study on the effectiveness of school-based health clinics. Contact 773-325-4260, lrobinso@depaul.edu.
• Brian Wilcox is director of the Center on Children, Families and the Law and a psychology professor at the University of Nebraska. He reported on research findings that deal with both abstinence-only and comprehensive sex education. Contact 402-472-3798, bwilcox1@unl.edu Brian.
• Jeffrey P. Moran is assistant professor of history at the University of Kansas at Lawrence and author of Teaching Sex: The Shaping of Adolescence in the 20th Century (Harvard University Press, 2002). Contact 785-864-9461, jefmoran@ku.edu, jefmoran@mail.ku.edu.

IN THE SOUTHWEST

• Thomas B. Holman is a professor of marriage, family and human development at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He wrote “The Teaching of Non-marital Sexual Abstinence and Members’ Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors: The Case of Latter-Day Saints” for the Review of Religious Research. Contact 801-422-6704, holmant@fhss.byu.edu.
• Christopher G. Ellison is associate professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. He is an expert on Christianity and public education. Contact 512-471-1122, cellison@mail.la.utexas.edu.
• Ron Glass is an associate professor of education at the graduate studies department of the College of Teacher Education and Leadership at Arizona State University in Tempe. He is an expert on moral and political issues in education. Contact 602-543-6330, rglass@asu.edu.
• Nuestros Milagros (Our Miracles) trains teens in grades 8 to 12 to talk with other teens about staying abstinent and not using drugs. It’s part of Clinica Tpeyac, a free clinic originally started by Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Denver. Contact 303-458-5302.

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST

• J. Shawn Landres is a lecturer and research fellow at the Sigi Ziering Institute at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles. He has written several articles on abstinence and adolescents, including the sections “True Love Waits” and “Chastity” for the reference book Contemporary American Religion (Macmillan Reference USA, 1999). Contact 310-472-1127, jslandres@uj.edu.
• Kristin Luker is a professor of law and sociology at the University of California-Berkeley. She is an expert on teen pregnancy and contraception. She wrote the book Dubious Conceptions: The Politics of Teenage Pregnancy (Harvard University Press, 1997). Contact 510-642-4038, luker@law.berkeley.edu.
• Douglas Kirby is a senior research scientist for ETR Associates Program Services in Scotts Valley, Calif. ETR provides services for the development, implementation, evaluation and dissemination of public health initiatives. Kirby is nationally known for his work in the field of adolescent sexuality. He has reviewed research on school and community programs aimed at reducing adolescent sexual risk-taking behaviors and abstinence-only programs. Contact 831-438-4060 ext.144, dougk@etr.org.