John McCain, a proponent of abstinence-only education programs, is at odds with 80 percent of the American public who support comprehensive sex education. He can sensationalize the issue, but the fact remains that this is an issue of public health and safety.

John McCain recently released an ad attacking Barack

Obama’s education agenda, including his support for comprehensive sex education.

The announcer says that Obama supports "learning about sex before learning to

read." Well, I hope so. If we are not giving our children age-appropriate

education throughout their lives, we are not doing our best to protect

them.

Earlier this year, the Religious Coalition for

Reproductive Choice put out a request for people to tell us the story of how

they learned about sex. We received well over 400 responses from individuals

around the country age 17 through 94. These replies offer thoughtful reflections

and often intimate, sometimes painful, glimpses into personal lives. Quite a few

responders said they learned about sex "the hard way" — from being abused as a

child.

If I had known

what sex was, I would have understood what was happening to me when I was

molested by a male relative beginning at age 8. – Stephanie,

45*

My sex ed took

place in a household where there was physical and emotional abuse, AND sexual

abuse. Dad was having sex with 3 younger brothers. – Susan,

47

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My uncle molested

me at 12. If someone had shared the facts with me sooner it may not have

happened the way it did. – Tom, 50

My father molested

me. The earliest I remember was at age 6-7. – Helen,

76+

I was molested at

8 and do not recall ever being "taught" about sex. – Ginger,

32

From my older

cousins talking about it and some in particular wanting to experiment with me. I

was 6. They were teenagers. – Emily, 38

I was sexually

abused from infancy. – Dorothy, 71

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services, each year there are around 80,000 reported cases of child sexual

abuse. It is well known that the number of unreported cases is far greater. Yet

the curriculum for comprehensive sex education in kindergarten that John McCain

derided is to learn about inappropriate touching.

Our survey also found that what you learn – or don’t

learn – as a child and young person can have life-long

repercussions.

I wish I’d learned

what intercourse was and how easy it is to get pregnant. – Joyce,

79

I wish I’d learned

about STDs and the way in which they can be transmitted. I was under the

impression that oral sex was safe, since you couldn’t get pregnant from it.

– Abigail, 26

The good girl/bad

girl images prevalent when I was young only served to instill a great deal of

fear in me, which negatively impacted on my marriage for years. – Jean,

57

Senator McCain, a proponent of abstinence-only education

programs, is at odds with 80 percent of the American public who support

comprehensive sex education. He can sensationalize the issue, but the fact

remains that this is an issue of public health and

safety.

Major faith traditions – Methodist, Episcopalian,

Presbyterian, Jewish – representing millions of Americans, support comprehensive

sexuality education. These faith communities take seriously their duty to

instill a set of religious and moral values that will help guide young people to

responsible life choices. They believe that it is the role of government to

ensure that the nation’s youth receive the facts – unblemished by ideology –

that will protect them from predators, disease and unintended pregnancy.

*Names have been changed.