Utah's sex education should be changed with care, if at all

Critics charge Utah fails teens by not teaching birth control in school, and urge change in sex-education law.

For example, the Salt Lake Tribune editorialized: "Utah, a state where Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints doctrine and conservative belief about abstinence-only education prevail, is an example of the failure of just say no as a way to protect teens."

The critics are mistaken: Utah sex education is comparatively successful.

In America, 75 of every 1,000 girls between the ages of 15 and 19 become pregnant. In Utah, only 40 of every 1,000 girls become pregnant.

Rates of sexually transmitted disease are rising in both Utah and America, but Utah has one-tenth the syphilis rate of America, one-sixth the gonorrhea rate and 60 percent the chlamydia rate.

Schools teach sex education to prevent teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease, and Utah does better at both than the rest of America.

Most American schools teach "comprehensive sex education:" the effects of teen pregnancy, how birth control prevents pregnancy and disease and how to get and use birth control. They may urge teens to put off sex, but they believe teens will make their own choice no matter what teachers say.

Utah policy might be called "families teach, and schools do no harm." In Utah, families and churches teach about sex, often stressing abstinence. Utah legislators fear birth-control teaching in school might blur abstinence teaching from home, so they restrict school teaching.

Many social science studies show birth-control teaching in school somewhat reduces teen-pregnancy and disease rates, while school abstinence teaching does no good.

But some studies show whatever teachers say affects teens less than teachings and, examples from home, their friends, and the whole complex of their lives. That may be why Utah succeeds despite social science studies.

Utah has strong families. A Utah child is more likely to live with both parents than a child in any other state. Utah parents are more likely to be married than parents in other states. Utah mothers are less likely to be teens, less likely to be poor, and they have more education than mothers in other states.

As the Tribune said, Utah sex education reflects Mormon values. Surveys show Mormon parents are more likely than others to talk about the "morality of sex." Mormon teens are most likely of all teens to agree having sex would "upset your mother," and most likely to want to put off sex. Mormon teens are less likely to have sex than other teens.

Admittedly, Utah sex education may succeed for some groups but not for others. Pregnancy rates for black Utah girls are less than half national rates. In contrast, Utah Latina girls are slightly more likely to become pregnant than Latinas nationally.

Ways may be found to improve Utah sex education, but the changes now advocated at the legislature are already in place in other states, and most of those states have higher teen pregnancy and disease rates than Utah.

Utah sex education is not broken. Lawmakers should change it with care, if at all.

Rod Decker is a reporter at KUTV.