NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Spurred by a classroom demonstration involving a sex toy, Tennessee recently enacted a pro-abstinence sex-education law that is among the strictest in the nation.
The most debated section of the bill bars educators from promoting so-called "gateway sexual activity." But supporters seemed too squeamish during floor debate to specify what that meant, so critics soon labeled it the "no holding-hands bill."
One thing missing from the debate in the Legislature was a discussion of whether the law signed by Republican Gov. Bill Haslam last month really would help reduce Tennessee's high teenage pregnancy rate. Experts say it won't and warn that it leaves teenagers inadequately educated about sexuality and prevention of pregnancy and disease.
Tennessee's pregnancy rate among girls 15 to 17 has dropped steadily since the first abstinence-focused sex-education curriculum was put in place in the 1990s, according to figures from the state Commission on Children and Youth. In 2009, the latest data available, there were 29.6 pregnancies per 1,000 girls, down from a rate of 48.2 in 1998.
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Yet the state's teen pregnancy rate remains one of the highest in the nation, according to the New York-based Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health-research organization.
"What we know ... from the research is that comprehensive sex education works. It delays sexual activity, it reduces the number of partners teens have, and it increases contraceptive use," said Elizabeth Nash, state issues manager for the institute. "There is very little in the way of any rigorous research that shows that abstinence education has any of these long-term benefits."
Barry Chase, president of Planned Parenthood Great-er Memphis Region, agreed.
"This bill ties the hands of educators in Tennessee and will prevent them from providing the comprehensive education that students want and need and their parents expect," he said.
Rep. Jim Gotto, who sponsored the legislation, disputed the way the bill is being characterized.
"It's not abstinence-only education," said the Nashville Republican. "I'm so sick of people trying to spin it as that ... because they don't like it. The law does specify that the curriculum has to be abstinence-focused, but they can talk about contraception."
Proponents contend abstinence is the most reliable way to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
The law now uses the criminal statute on sexual assault to specify acts - such as groping or fondling - that fall under "gateway sexual activity." It also says family life curriculum must not "display or conduct demonstrations with devices specifically manufactured for sexual stimulation." Parents can sue over such incidents, and a fine of $500 or more can be imposed.
