Abstinence Programs

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I literally have no clue how to establish an abstinence program. We WERE using the Draw the Line/Respect the Line program but apparently they want $5,000-$10,000 for training of new staff members to teach the program :eek: my Superintendent and I just laughed and laughed when we saw that! :yes: But now I'm tasked with finding a new program and I don't know where to start! Do y'all use a specific program? Are you responsible for teaching it? If so, do you do your own thing or are there specific guidelines you're supposed to follow? I have so many questions.... :nurse:

We all know this, however we are bound by our state/county/school policies. The OP is in Texas, abstinence only is the only "sex ed" those kids get

Whoa, I thought that was a district-to-district thing in some states and didn't realize it was on the books. That's...very unfortunate. Thanks for the correction!

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Specializes in Adult and pediatric emergency and critical care.
See, I love teaching sex education to middle school and high school students! It is incredibly important and I really think that if the educator doesn't want to be teaching it or feels awkward with it, the kids also see right through that as well. Kids are tough, especially middle school kids.

But I also feel a lesson plan is very, very helpful, to be honest, even if you shape to work for you and your kids. I also took a general sex educator seminar that didn't focus on a specific curriculum, but just how to present factual information that teaches, but doesn't judge or let your own preconceptions get in the way and that was also great. The curriculum I use focusing on social emotional learning and lets the kids guide the discussion. But also provides me with all the tools I needed as an educator, especially in being prepared for questions students ask and how to provide factual answers and additional resources if needed.

I think that the education is very important, but the discovery of the vast misconceptions perpetuated by peers and parents is quite trying.

My first experience teaching kids in any significant way was back before I was a nurse. I used to be a firefighter in a fairly large urban interface department and would teach forestry at two of the local schools. I had a formal lesson plan for that, but mostly because there were several of us that taught it and we wanted to maintain uniformity throughout the district. The general lack of knowledge was much easier to teach to than the many rumors and legends that must be stricken down. Also, I didn't have to worry about complaints from parents or the district so that was nice.

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We all know this, however we are bound by our state/county/school policies. The OP is in Texas, abstinence only is the only "sex ed" those kids get

Well that's because our teenagers don't have sex before marriage ...

Texas has the highest rate of repeat teen pregnancy in the country | Commentary | Dallas News

Or maybe not?

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Specializes in Transitional Nursing.

For what its worth, I think kids need to have sex education, the details and the rationale for why they should practice safe sex. Abstinence programs do nothing but rob them of much needed information for when the time comes that they do partake, and the vast majority WILL partake. Period.

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I'm in Pennsylvania but our local crisis pregnancy center will come in and do that type of teaching.

Aren't most of the "pregnancy crisis center" religiously funded and run? Does your public school district allow religious groups to come in and indoctrinate the kids, or is this a private school?

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Is there a particular reason or need for a formal curriculum versus developing your own?

I have had the distinct displeasure of guest teaching sex ed to older school age and middle school kids, but other than a general outline I never had a formal lesson plan. My goals were always to gauge where the kids were at before we started, teach the relevant material to fill in the gaps and correct any misconceptions, and typically proctor some form of evaluation that the principal or school district wanted. The more I kept it open to the kids guiding it (or at least let them think they were guiding it) the more invested they were. I've never personally taught from someone else's lesson plans, but unless you are truly a great teacher the kids will see right through it, become bored, and do just about anything else they care about.

Honestly, Peak, I'm not sure if there is a requirement for a formal curriculum or not. This is something that was just thrown at me and I have no idea where to start with it. Thus my grasping for help from my awesome cyber-coworkers! I do agree with the other posts that state we need Sex Ed as opposed to just abstinence-only curriculums, but like its been stated, I'm bound by what the State says we can teach.

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Aren't most of the "pregnancy crisis center" religiously funded and run? Does your public school district allow religious groups to come in and indoctrinate the kids, or is this a private school?

Yes, they are religious based and if you go to the pregnancy center, you will be taught a biblical view. The curriculum they provide in the school is very white washed, fact only with no religion involved. I have seen both. I am a public school and the local pregnancy center is not permitted to be there because (gasp)there might possibly be a bias towards Christian values. Don't worry, we do not "indoctrinate"our kids. But I do sponsor a really nice Christian fellowship group that meets after school hours. Even there, I am not allowed to speak to the topic, I just provide snacks.

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Yes, they are religious based and if you go to the pregnancy center, you will be taught a biblical view. The curriculum they provide in the school is very white washed, fact only with no religion involved.

Are you sure the school curriculum is really "fact based"? The religious "crisis pregnancy centers" are famous for providing, ummm, let's say, "inaccurate" information (aka "lies") about the "dangers" of abortion in order to scare people into continuing pregnancies.

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Specializes in Adult and pediatric emergency and critical care.
Are you sure the school curriculum is really "fact based"? The religious "crisis pregnancy centers" are famous for providing, ummm, let's say, "inaccurate" information (aka "lies") about the "dangers" of abortion in order to scare people into continuing pregnancies.

Are you insinuating that there is no risk associated with abortions, be it elective or otherwise?

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Are you sure the school curriculum is really "fact based"? The religious "crisis pregnancy centers" are famous for providing, ummm, let's say, "inaccurate" information (aka "lies") about the "dangers" of abortion in order to scare people into continuing pregnancies.

Yes. I have seen the curriculum. If you go to the pregnancy center you will get very Christian based material. The center I am familiar with is opposed to any and all kinds of birth control. I am very conservative and they are much more conservative than I am. I am talking specifically about abstinence only education. That is the program they bring into the schools. I never said abstinence only works. I work in a high school. I spend lots of time talking to girls about the various forms of birth control out there. I also talk about hormonal bc and that it doesn't prevent std's and the need for a second barrier method. I'm not trying to place my values on anyone. As nurses it is NEVER our job to put our values on anyone. I was just trying to give a suggestion to the OP who inquired about abstinence only programs. They never mentioned abortion or other topics. Why would an abstinence program mention abortion? Geesh...didn't realize I was going into such controversial territory. Was just trying to be helpful.

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Specializes in Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC.
The OP is in Texas, abstinence only is the only "sex ed" those kids get

This kind of thinking assumes that if kids are not taught about biological processes and sexual urges, they won't engage in sexual activity. It is a head-in-the-sand approach to be certain. It reminds me of a former neighbor, who told me that her teenaged daughter would never engage in sex because she had been told that her body was a temple of the Lord. It left me to wonder whether the daughter was already pregnant.

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Are you insinuating that there is no risk associated with abortions, be it elective or otherwise?

Of course not. There is risk attached to any medication or medical procedure. Shoot, there is risk attached to my going to work tomorrow. However, legal abortions performed according to the accepted standard of care do have very little risk attached, and are significantly safer than childbirth -- which makes it hard to buy the argument from so many anti-choice activists that they're worried about women's health.

The risk of mortality from childbirth in the United States is estimated to be 14 times higher than the risk from induced abortion, and the risk of all maternal morbidities, defined as "conditions either unique to pregnancy or potentially exacerbated by pregnancy that occurred in at least 5% of all pregnancies" is significantly higher among women who give birth than among those who have abortions (Raymond et al., 2014).

Side Effects, Physical Health Consequences, and Mortality Associated with Abortion and Birth after an Unwanted Pregnancy - ScienceDirect

The state legislative director of one of the nation's leading anti-choice organizations recently contradicted a key refrain of the anti-choice movement when she admitted that abortion is safer than many common medical procedures, including delivery.

During a political and legislative strategy session at the National Right to Life Committee's annual convention held last weekend in Louisville, Kentucky, Mary Spaulding Balch said current data shows that abortions-including riskier second-trimester abortions-carry fewer risks of death than lady partsl births, cesarean sections, and plastic surgery procedures, such as facelifts and liposuction.

In making this point, Balch criticized the legislative strategy used by other anti-choice groups to pass bans on abortion after 20 weeks by claiming the procedure is dangerous to women. The proper approach, she said, is to base the argument around the unborn.

"Who would ever say that we should ban liposuction because of the risk to the women?" Balch said, after reading off statistics claiming that on average there are .19 deaths for 1,000 liposuction procedures, compared to .09 deaths for every 1,000 second-trimester abortion procedures. "Who's going to win that debate?"

National Right to Life Director Admits Pregnancy Is Riskier Than Abortion - Rewire

The risk of death from abortion plummeted after legalization in the early 1970s. In recent decades, the risk of death from abortion has been around 1 per 100,000 procedures. To put that in some perspective, the estimated risk of death from an injection of penicillin is about 2 per 100,000 injections.

According to national data from the CDC, the risk of death from pregnancy and childbirth is 14 times higher than with abortion. Critics complained that abortion deaths were grossly under-reported, invalidating the comparison. This claim has no merit. Some under-reporting of abortion-related deaths is likely, but under-reporting of pregnancy and childbirth deaths occurs as well. Assume that the true number of abortion-related deaths is three times that reported by the CDC. Pregnancy and childbirth would still have a mortality ratio several times that of abortion.

How Safe Is Abortion? | HuffPost

The crisis pregnancy centers are well-known (for many years) for intentionally masquerading as legitimate healthcare providers in an attempt to lure in women who are looking for abortion information and services, and then touting completely fictitious connections between abortion and breast cancer and future infertility, as well as "post abortion syndrome" or "post abortion stress syndrome," which they claim is a form of PTSD but is not recognized by any legitimate women's health or mental health group, in order to attempt to scare women into continuing pregnancies.

Pregnancy Centers Found to Give False Information on Abortion

Crisis pregnancy centers: Three legal strategies for bringing them down.

Fake Pregnancy Centers Will Say Some Ridiculous Things To Trick Women Away From Abortion – ThinkProgress

So I've got wonder what they're telling kids in their "abstinence only sex ed" curriculum they offer in schools.

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