U.S. Government Should Meet the Needs of ALL Families
SIECUS Launches Families Are Speaking Out! to Help Parents Voice Their Concerns Over
New HHS Website, 4parents.gov
New York, NY – On March 25, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched a new website: www.4parents.gov. This website states that it is intended to help parents and caregivers talk to young people about sex and relationships, however, it provides inaccurate information and fails to address the real needs of families, especially parents of youth who may be sexually active, youth who have been or are being sexually abused, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth.
To counteract HHS' irresponsible move, the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS) has launched Families Are Speaking Out! to inform parents of the serious issues concerning 4parents.gov and provide them with the tools to express their concerns regarding the website. The launch of Families Are Speaking Out! comes on the heels of a March 31 letter signed by nearly 150 advocacy and public health organizations expressing their concerns to Secretary Leavitt about the website and requesting it be immediately taken down.
"As the premiere guardian of the nation's health, HHS should provide parents and caregivers with medically accurate and inclusive information that will promote the health and well being of all of our families," said Bill Smith, vice president for public policy of SIECUS. "4parents.gov falls far short of what parents and caregivers need in order to talk effectively to their children about sex and relationships, and instead uses fear, censorship, and ideology that only serves to divide American families," Smith continued.
Families Are Speaking Out! asks parents, grandparents, caregivers, mentors, and guardians to view 4parents.gov and form their own opinion. For those parents and caregivers who agree with SIECUS' concerns, we have provided a sample letter and mechanism to contact Secretary Michael O. Leavitt. However, because the Secretary will not release his email address to the public, SIECUS will collect the letters and deliver them to him at HHS.
"Parents and caregivers voices are critical in helping the government realize that 4parents.gov is shortchanging the very families and parents that the website was intended to serve," Smith continued. "Families Are Speaking Out! will provide parents and caregivers a platform in which they can express their dissatisfaction with the website and make a difference," Smith continued.
Excerpts from the letter to Secretary Leavitt:
As a parent, I am writing to express my concerns regarding HHS' recently launched website 4parents.gov. While I applaud your attempt to help parents such as myself talk with our children, I am disheartened with the way in which 4parents.gov approaches abstinence, sex, and relationships.
Specifically, I am concerned that this new website:
- Dictates values and ground rules to parents
- Relies on fear and shame instead of open and honest communication to foster dialogue between parents and their children.
- Lacks the full range of information that can empower parents to identify and share their own values, messages, and beliefs.
- Distorts the needs of America's youth (almost half of whom have already had sexual intercourse according to recent CDC statistics).
- Ignores the needs of sexually active youth, youth who have been or are being sexually abused, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth, as well as the parents of these young people.
- Fails to provide sufficient resources for parents who want background information on various topics such as puberty, or direct these parents to a multitude of websites and materials that could provide such information.
"All of us agree that parents should be the primary sexuality educators of their children. Therefore it is critical that parents have all the information, resources, and skills to tackle this complex issue," said Smith. "It is after all HHS' mission to lead all Americans to better health, safety, and well-being, and provide them with medically accurate and unbiased information," continued Smith.
To view Families Are Speaking Out! and the letter to Secretary Leavitt, go to www.familiesaretalking.org
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