Abstinence-only sex education debate intensifies

• Congress is considering a $28 million boost in federal funding for abstinence-only sex education programs, which currently get about $176 million a year. Read a summary posted by kaisernetwork.org (The government funds abstinence-only education through several programs, so numbers often differ.)

• In November 2007 Virginia became the 14th state to refuse to support abstinence-only education programs. Gov. Timothy Kaine’s decision was said to be based on studies indicating that a more comprehensive approach was needed to protect against teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.

• President Bush tapped an abstinence-only supporter, Susan Orr, in October to lead the Department of Health and Human Services’ family planning programs.

• The Portland, Maine, School Committee voted in October to make contraceptives available to middle-school students as young as 11, a decision that sparked debate around the nation about sex education and teens’ and pre-teens’ sexual health. Read an Oct. 21, 2007, New York Times article.

• A congressionally authorized evaluation of four abstinence-education programs, released in April 2007, found that they made no difference in the sexual abstinence of participants. But the firm that conducted the study, Mathematica Policy Research Inc., also found that “youth in these programs were no more likely to have unprotected sex, a concern that has been raised by some critics of these programs.”

• In November 2006, a report from the Government Accountability Office found that the Department of Health and Human Services and some states had not ensured that abstinence-only sex education programs that received government funding were providing accurate information. See a story from the Roundtable on Religion & Social Welfare Policy.

• In February 2006, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agreed to stop funding a national sex education program that taught abstinence only before marriage after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit claiming that by funding Silver Ring Thing, based in Massachusetts, the government was funding religious activities. See a story by the Roundtable on Religion & Social Welfare Policy.

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 risen or dropped? 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 recent years?

• Have there been concerns that abstinence-only programs bring a religious message into schools? What groups are working to prevent that from happening?

National sources

See ReligionLink’s issue on school textbooks for national and regional sources engaged in debates over how sexual education is taught in public schools.

GOVERNMENT

• Stephanie Ventura heads the reproductive statistics branch of the National Center for Health Statistics. She can discuss the new report on the teen birth rate. Contact 301-458-4547, sventura@cdc.gov.

• Daniel Schneider is acting 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 202-401-5180, daniel.schneider@acf.hss.gov.

• Stan Koutstaal is director of the Health and Human Services abstinence-education division. Contact 202-205-8102, skoutstaal@acf.hhs.gov.

• Patricia Thompson coordinated the government’s Abstinence Education Evaluation Conference in March 2007 in Baltimore. The agenda lists speakers from organizations and national and state government. Contact 240-453-2835, Patricia.Thompson@hhs.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, 212-248-1953, 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, thoff@kff.org.

• 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 Martha Kempner, SIECUS’ vice president for information and communications, 212-819-9770 ext. 324, mkempner@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 more than two dozen 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; and Breaking the Silence, a curriculum for local congregations. Contact 202-628-7700, bciinfo@rcrc.org.

• The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned 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 at 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 Mark Pelavin of the Union for Reform Judaism, which handles press for the conference, 202-387-2800.

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 chief executive officer of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned 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.

• Steve Conley is executive director of the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists, based in Virginia. Contact 804-752-0026, drsconley@aasect.org.

• Kirsten Moore is president of the Reproductive Health Technologies Project in Washington, D.C. Contact 202-557-3417.

• David E. Bloom is chairman of the public policy committee at 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.

• Suzanne Bowdey is senior writer and editor for the Family Research Council. Her previous jobs have included serving as communications director for the Best Friends Foundation, an inner-city abstinence program. Contact 202-393-2100.

• Andrea Lafferty is executive director of the Traditional Values Coalition. Contact 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 chief executive officer of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations, the nation’s largest faith-based organization of doctors. It is based in Bristol, Tenn. Contact 423-844-1000.

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 White House Web site describes abstinence-only grant programs. The government promotes and funds abstinence-only sex education in several ways:

• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), for matching grants to states to provide abstinence education and, at state option, mentoring, counseling and adult supervision to promote abstinence from sexual activity, with a focus on groups that are most likely to bear children out-of-wedlock.

• Adolescent Family Life abstinence education grants (includes list of 2007-08 grantees) through the Office of Population Affairs’ Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs.

• Title V community-based Abstinence Education Program and the State Abstinence Education Program through the Administration for Children & Families.

• See a chart of states’ sex education requirements, posted by the Guttmacher Institute.

• The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy published a chart of the various bills through which abstinence-only sex education is funded nationally and in the states.

STUDIES

• Read the full report by Mathematica Policy Research Inc. on the effectiveness of four abstinence-education programs. According to the study, released in April 2007, participants “were no more likely than control group youth to have abstained from sex and, among those who reported having had sex, they had similar numbers of sexual partners and had initiated sex at the same mean age.”

• 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 report on SIECUS’ Web site about a 2004 research study that found 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 an Advocates for Youth report, “Five Years of Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Education: Assessing the Impact.” It looks at the period from 1998-2003.

STATISTICS

• Read the federal government’s December 2007 news release on preliminary births data for 2006. It says that the birth rate for teens rose in 2006 – the first increase since 1991. (The full report by the National Center for Health Statistics is also available.) The 2006 increase came on the heels of a record low set in 2005.

• The National Center for Health Statistics posts additional statistics about teen births.

• According to the January/February 2007 issue of Public Health Reports, a 2002 survey found that three out of four people in the U.S. had had premarital sex by age 20.

• The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a 2005 survey of high school students found that 47 percent reported having had sexual intercourse – down from 54 percent in 1991.

• Read a Sept. 15, 2005, report from the national Center for Health Statistics that includes figures on sexual behavior in 2002 among U.S. teens. It says, among other things, that 25 percent of 15-year-old boys had had vaginal intercourse, and the figure jumped to 62 percent for 18-year-old males. The corresponding figures for girls were 26 percent and 70 percent, respectively.

POLLS

• An October 2007 Associated Press/Ipsos poll explored attitudes about sex education and the provision of birth control to minors. It’s posted by PollingReport.com.

• A Public Health Institute poll, released in May 2007, found that 89 percent of California parents want their children to receive comprehensive sex education in school.

• “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.

NEWS ARTICLES & TRANSCRIPTS

• Read a Dec. 6, 2007, Washington Post article about the newly released government data showing a jump in the teen birth rate.

• Read a Dec. 6, 2007, Christian Newswire story about Concerned Women for America’s criticism of federal reporting on the new birth rate data.

• Read a Nov. 28, 2007, Washington Times story about public health researchers urging Congress to cut spending on abstinence-only sex education, which they described as having “multiple scientific and ethical problems.”

• Read a Nov. 13, 2007, Washington Post article about Virginia becoming the 14th state to reject abstinence-only education funding.

• Read a Nov. 8, 2007, Dallas Morning News story about a report that examined 115 studies of teen sexual behavior; the report concluded that the effectiveness of abstinence-only education programs in preventing teen sex remains unproved.

• Read a Nov. 5, 2007, Dallas Morning News story on how Texas leads the nation in teen pregnancies.

• Read an Oct. 21, 2007, New York Times report on the Portland, Maine, School Committee’s decision to make birth-control pills accessible to middle-schoolers.

• Read an Oct. 14, 2007, Los Angeles Times article about what some consider the surprising support for abstinence-only education programs by the Democratic-controlled Congress.

• Read a Sept. 21, 2007, New York Times story about New York rejecting federal abstinence-only education funding.

• Read a Sept. 18, 2007, story from the Allentown, Pa., Morning Call about Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., adding abstinence-program funding earmarks to an appropriations bill. The article is posted by National City Network.

• Read a July 18, 2007, New York Times story about abstinence-only sex education programs. It’s posted by the Roundtable on Religion & Social Welfare Policy.

• Read a July 10, 2007, story from the Roundtable on Religion & Social Welfare Policy about Congress’ continuing debate over funding levels for abstinence-only education.

• Read a June 19, 2007, story from the Roundtable on Religion & Social Welfare Policy about government abstinence programs facing reduced levels of funding.

• Read a June 4, 2007, article by Stateline.org about a movement among states toward comprehensive sex education programs and away from abstinence-only ones, and how Democratic electoral victories have bolstered the shift.

• Read a June 3, 2007, Deseret Morning News story about the results of two sex education polls with differing results.

• Listen to a podcast of a discussion on Jewish sex education, featuring Rabbi Jack Abramowitz of the National Conference of Synagogue Youth and Rabbi Laura Novak Winer, director of curriculum and planning for the Union for Reform Judaism’s youth division and coordinator of the Sacred Choices sex ed curriculum.

• 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.

Regional sources

IN THE NORTHEAST

• The Rev. Sheryl A. Kujawa-Holbrook is academic dean at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., where she also holds the Suzanne Radley Hiatt Chair in Feminist Pastoral Theology and Church History. 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@eds.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 associate 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 professor of sociomedical sciences 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 Youth Director Hud Williams, 703-433-1325 ext. 109, hudwilliams@gmail.com.

IN THE SOUTHEAST

• Warren A. Nord is director of the Program in the 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 919-843-2039, 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 540-831-5157, mwagner@radford.edu.

IN THE SOUTH

• Stephen Nagy is an associate professor and program director of public health at Western Kentucky University. He is an expert on teen issues, including sex education. Contact 270-745-5870, Stephen.Nagy@wku.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@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 emeritus in the department 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 612-624-7769, james.maddock@worldnet.att.net.

• 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 associate professor of sociology at the University of Notre Dame. He is an expert on religion and public school education. He wrote “Religion and Education” for the book Handbook on Religion and Social Institutions (Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers). Contact 574-707-4127, David.Sikkink.1@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 402-472-3479, bwilcox1@unl.edu.

• Jeffrey P. Moran is an associate 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.

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, thomas_holman@byu.edu.

• Christopher G. Ellison is a professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. He is an expert on Christianity and public education. Contact 512-232-6312, cellison@prc.utexas.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 La Clinica Tepeyac, a free clinic originally started by Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Denver. Contact 303-458-5302.

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST

• Ron Glass is an associate professor in the education department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is an expert on moral and political issues in education. Contact 831-459-5188, rglass@ucsc.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@socrates.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.