性教育的方向:禁欲还是避孕


性教育的方向:禁欲还是避孕
本报驻美国记者 杨丽明

中青在线-中国青年报 2010-01-28  

    美国20岁以下的未成年少女怀孕率,结束15年的逐年减少的趋势,在2006年首次出现反弹。这是美国伽麦切尔研究所本月26日刚刚公布的一项调查结果。伽麦切尔研究所是专注美国社会的性与健康的著名研究所。根据该研究所刚刚发布的报告,2006年美国15~19岁的未成年少女怀孕率比2005年上涨了3%。
    根据该研究所大量采样调查后公布的最新统计数据,2006年,平均每千名美国15岁至19岁的未成年少女中,怀孕者达到了71.5名,怀孕率高达7%。而在2005年,这个数字是69.5。

    与此同时,未成年少女流产的比例也有所提高。根据该研究所的统计,在2006年,美国20岁以下的未成年少女,每千人就有19.3人做过流产,这一数字比前一年升高了1%。另外,美国的青少年怀孕比例高于其他西方发达国家,也是令人担心的现象。

    未成年妈妈现在已经成为美国社会的一个严重问题。尽管媒体大肆渲染美国前共和党副总统候选人佩林19岁的女儿愉快地抚养儿子的故事,但未成年少女妈妈们面临的严峻现实仍然难以忽视。

    美国每年怀孕的未成年少女大约在75万人左右,其中四分之三是意外怀孕。选择生下孩子的未成年少女妈妈中,80%都会受到贫穷的困扰,大部分人不得不依靠福利救济生活。因此,青少年怀孕比例止跌回升这一现象,立刻引起了美国社会的普遍关注。

    许多专家已经开始寻找问题的症结所在,性教育的方向成为他们重点关注的目标。伽麦切尔研究所的高级政策分析师希瑟·波斯特拉说:“这一结果正好与布什政府推行严格的‘禁欲教育计划’时间相吻合,该计划得到了上届政府的大量资助。”

    据统计,美国青少年性行为在上世纪70年代到80年代期间一直呈上升趋势,因此导致未成年少女妈妈不断增多。从1991年开始,由于担心艾滋病的威胁,美国社会开始大力进行性教育,推动青少年使用避孕工具,因此使得美国的未成年少女怀孕现象大幅度减少,在将近20年的时间里不断下降。

    但在布什担任美国总统期间,美国的性教育开始向“禁欲教育”转弯,主张在中小学的性教育中只教孩子们如何保持婚前性纯洁,而不提供避孕知识,甚至禁止提到避孕,推迟青少年首次发生性行为的时间。这个立场为布什赢得了不少保守派的支持。保守派认为,禁欲者不可能怀孕,也不可能使人怀孕,更不可能感染性病。在2005年美国国会批准的预算中,有1.76亿美元用于“禁欲”教育。

    然而,许多专家都认为,尽管“禁欲教育”可以劝说孩子们晚点再开始性行为,但一旦孩子们“越轨”,比起那些接受了普通性教育的青少年来,他们会更倾向于不使用避孕工具。

    莎拉·布朗是一个致力于防止青少年意外怀孕的公益组织负责人,她认为,最新公布的数字说明,美国最近10年来在性教育方面是失败的。她说:“很明显,我们使得孩子们推迟怀孕时间的措施应该更加有创造性、更加有效,应该从今天就开始。”

    专家认为,美国性教育应该有新的理念和方向,致力于向青少年传播健康的性生活观念和行为,而不是单纯通过宣扬禁欲来减少青少年怀孕比例。

    不过,即使到现在,禁欲教育也不乏支持者。他们认为,目前的统计数据正好说明继续进行禁欲教育是多么重要。他们还表示,禁欲教育不仅能够推迟青少年首次发生性行为的时间、减少青少年性伴侣的数量,还能够有效减少艾滋病等疾病通过性行为传播的机会,这“比简单地派发安全套更能让青少年有健康的性行为”。美国国家禁欲教育联合会的一名负责人瓦勒丽·胡伯表示,造成目前青少年怀孕增加的原因,更多的是由于“性话题过于泛滥的文化、缺乏正面榜样和青少年性行为没什么大不了的论调”。

    从奥巴马政府的表现来看,美国的性教育此后很可能是“两条腿走路”。自从奥巴马政府上任以来,已将为那些致力于劝说青少年“禁欲”的各种组织的拨款减少了1.5亿美元,另外推出了一项高达1.1亿美元的防止青少年怀孕计划。根据这项计划,美国政府将采取“被证明有效的方式”来防止未成年少女妈妈数量飙升,但同时也没有完全否定为禁欲教育进行投资的计划。

    本报华盛顿1月27日电
 

The direction of sex education: abstinence or contraception
Washington Li-Ming Yang

Youth Online - China Youth Daily 2010-01-28

    
United States 20 years of age the rate of teenage pregnancy, ending a 15-year trend of decreasing in 2006, the first rebound. This is the 26th of this month the U.S. Institute of Jiamaiqieer just released results of a survey. Jiamaiqieer Institute is a focus on sexual and health of American society well-known research institute. According to the Institute has just released a report in 2006 the United States 15 to 19-year-old teenage pregnancy rate than in 2005 rose by 3%.
    
According to the Institute survey a large number of samples to the latest statistics, in 2006, the average U.S. per thousand aged 15 to 19 year-old girl, the pregnancy has reached 71.5, pregnancy rate as high as 7%. In 2005, the figure was 69.5.

    
At the same time, underage girls also increased the proportion of abortions. According to the Institute's statistics, in 2006, the United States under the age of 20 underage girls, there are 19.3 per thousand people had an abortion, compared with the previous year this figure increased by 1%. In addition, the United States, the proportion of teenage pregnancy is higher than other Western countries, is also a worrying phenomenon.

    
Minor mother has now become a serious problem in American society. Although the media hype, former U.S. Republican vice presidential candidate Palin's 19-year-old daughter, happily raising his son's story, but underage girls mothers are faced with the grim reality remains difficult to ignore.

    
United States each year underage girls pregnant about 75 million people, of which three-quarters of unwanted pregnancies. Choose gave birth to the child's mother, underage girls, 80% will be plagued by poverty, most people had to rely on welfare living. Therefore, the proportion of teenage pregnancy go up again this phenomenon, immediately aroused widespread concern in American society.

    
Many experts have begun to find the crux of the problem, sex education as their focus the direction of the goal. Jiamaiqieer senior policy analyst at the Institute Stella Xi Sebo said: "This result coincided with the Bush administration's strict 'abstinence education program' to coincide, the program has received substantial financial support from the previous government. "

    
According to statistics, the U.S. adolescent sexuality in the last century, during the 70's to 80 years has been an upward trend, leading to under-age girls mothers continues to grow. Since 1991, due to fears the threat of AIDS, sex education in American society began to aggressively promote the young people to use contraceptives, thus making the United States, the phenomenon of teenage pregnancy significantly reduced in nearly 20 years has continued to fall.

    
However, as U.S. President George W. Bush during the sex education in the United States began to "abstinence education" turn, advocates of sex education in primary and secondary schools only teach children how to maintain sexual purity before marriage, without the provision of contraceptive knowledge, or even to prohibit mention of contraception, young people to postpone having sex for the first time time. This position for Bush to win a lot of conservative support. Conservatives believe that abstinence were not pregnant, nor can people pregnant, let alone sexually transmitted diseases. In 2005, the United States Congress approved the budget, there are 176 million U.S. dollars for "abstinence" education.

    
However, many experts agree that although "abstinence education" can persuade children to start having sex again delayed, but once the children have been "deviant" than those who receive sex education for young people to the ordinary, they will be more inclined to use contraceptives.

    
Suolabulang is a commitment to prevent young people from public service organization is responsible for unwanted pregnancies, and she believes that the latest figures show that the United States the last 10 years in sex education is a failure. She said: "Obviously, we make time for kids to postpone pregnancy, the measures should be more creative, more effective, it should start today."

    
Experts believe that sex education in the United States should have new ideas and directions, is committed to young people spread the concept of a healthy sex life and behavior, rather than simply through preaching abstinence to reduce the proportion of teenage pregnancy.

    
However, even now, abstinence education is also no lack of supporters. In their view, the current statistical data illustrates how to continue abstinence education is important. They also said that abstinence education can not only delay the time young people have sex for the first time, reducing the number of adolescent sexual partners, but also can be effective in reducing AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, the chance that this "more than a simple distribution of condoms so that young people have a healthy sexual behavior. " The National Abstinence Education Association, said a person in charge Valerie Huber, resulting in the current reasons for the increase of teenage pregnancy, more is due to "sexual topics are too many cultures, the lack of positive role models and youth sex nothing big deal of the argument. "

    
From the Obama administration's performance, after the United States, sex education is likely to be "walking on two legs." Since the Obama administration since he took office, has been for those working to persuade young people "abstinence" in the funding of various organizations, a decrease of 150 million U.S. dollars, also launched a 110 million U.S. dollars up to the prevention of teenage pregnancy program. Under this plan, the U.S. government will take "was proven to be effective way" to prevent soaring number of underage girls mothers, but also not completely negate the investment in abstinence education program.

    
Washington, January 27 Xinhua
 
 
 
 
 

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