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INDIANA
Indiana received $2,614,939 in federal funds for
abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in Fiscal Year 2006.
Indiana Sexuality Education Law and Policy
Indiana requires that schools teach sexuality education. This instruction must:
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Teach abstinence from sexual activity outside of marriage as the expected standard for all school age children;
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Include that abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain way to avoid out-of-wedlock pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and other associated health problems; and
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Include that the best way to avoid sexually transmitted diseases and other associated health problems is to establish a mutually faithful monogamous relationship in the context of marriage.
Each school must include instruction about HIV/AIDS and “integrate this effort to the extent possible with instruction on other dangerous communicable diseases.” This instruction must stress abstinence-only-until-marriage. School boards must also establish an AIDS Advisory Council, consisting of 13 people. This council must consist of “parents, students, teachers, administrators, and representatives of the state department of health” and must review all curricula and materials for HIV/AIDS instruction to ensure that they “reflect the standards of the community.” This council must also work in consultation with the Indiana Department of Health.
Furthermore, Indiana Code states that:
The state board shall provide information stressing the moral aspects of abstinence from sexual activity in any literature that it distributes to students and young adults concerning available methods for the prevention of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The literature must state that the best way to avoid AIDS is for young people to refrain from sexual activity until they are ready as adults to establish, in the context of marriage, a mutually faithful monogamous relationship.
Indiana does not require parental permission for students to participate in sexuality or HIV/AIDS education nor does it say whether parents or guardians can remove their children from such classes.
See Indiana Code 20-30-5-13, 20-34-1-3, and 20-34-3-17.
Recent Legislation
Legislation to Expand High School Health Education to Include Fetal Development Component
Senate Bill 119, introduced in January 2007 and referred to the Committee on Education and Career Development, would require each Indiana school corporation to include detailed instruction regarding human fetal development in its high school health education curriculum. This instruction would be required to include the following topics: the result of human sperm and egg convergence; the resulting development of human conception; the health consequences of early termination of pregnancy; photographic images portraying each state of uterine fetal development; and descriptions of human fetal development.
Legislation Says that Schools Must Show Preference for Marriage
House Bill 1202 would require schools to show a preference for marriage above all other domestic relationships. Domestic relationships are defined as those “relationships between two adults who are sexual partners and share a residential dwelling.” The legislation was introduced in January 2006 and placed in the House Committee on Education.
Events of Note
Notre Dame Students Stage Protests Over GSA
April 2004; Notre Dame, IN
Two student protests took place on the Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s College campuses as a result of the university’s decision to deny club status to Notre Dame’s newly formed Gay-Straight Alliance. The club, called Unity in Diversity, was formed by a group of students with the goal of creating a welcoming atmosphere for gay, lesbian, or bisexual students and employees on campus. However, in March 2004, Notre Dame’s Office of Student Activities rejected the group’s request for official recognition as a student organization, which means that the group is not allowed to advertise on campus or receive any funding from the student activities fees.
The Office of Student Activities said it turned down the request because the administration and campus ministry were already undertaking efforts to provide educational programs and support regarding sexual orientation, including a university-sponsored Standing Committee for Gay and Lesbian Student Needs. The director of student activities said, “It’s a complex issue, and having students out on their own dealing with it is not the best way….We prefer that students walk with faculty, administrators, and ministers in dealing with these issues.”2
In late April 2004, more than 2,000 Notre Dame students and staff wore orange t-shirts with the phrase “Gay? Fine by me” to show their support for the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance. A protest the previous month had more than 1,600 student participants.3 The t-shirts were provided free to students with a request for donations to cover the costs. One student who wore the shirt said, “I want to help create an atmosphere where people can be themselves and don’t have to be ashamed of who they are.”4
An organizer of the GSA explained, “A lot of it’s on a very personal level, you know, making people think. Making people see the word ‘gay’ and think about what that means to them, and just think about whether they know gay people, and how they should treat them.”5 The group says it will continue to work as an unofficial club and may apply for official university recognition in the future.
Indiana’s Youth: Statistical Information of Note6
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In 2005, 43% of female high school students and 46% of male high school students in Indiana reported ever having had sexual intercourse compared to 46% of female high school students and 48% of male high school students nationwide.
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In 2005, 34% of female high school students and 35% of male high school students in Indiana reported being currently sexually active (defined as having had sexual intercourse in the three months prior to the survey) compared to 35% of female high school students and 33% of male high school students nationwide.
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In 2005, among those high school students who reported being currently sexually active, 63% of females and 63% of males in Indiana reported having used condoms the last time they had sexual intercourse compared to 56% of females and 70% of males nationwide.
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In 2005, 92% of high school students in Indiana reported having been taught about AIDS/HIV in school compared to 88% of high school students nationwide.
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In 2000, Indiana’s abortion rate was 12 per 1,000 women ages 15–19 compared to a teen abortion rate of 24 per 1,000 nationwide.7
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In 2004, Indiana’s birth rate was 44 per 1,000 women ages 15–19 compared to a teen birth rate of 41 per 1,000 nationwide.8
Title V Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Funding
Indiana received $754,073 in federal Title V funding in Fiscal Year 2006. The Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage grant requires states to provide three state-raised dollars or the equivalent in services for every four federal dollars received. The state match may be provided in part or in full by local grants. In Indiana, sub-grantees provide the matching funds. The funding is controlled by the Indiana Department of Health.
The Indiana Department of Health’s funding is used to run its adolescent pregnancy-prevention campaign, “Indiana RESPECT” (Reduces Early Sex and Pregnancy by Educating Children and Teens.) The campaign has two main foci:
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Encourage youth to abstain from sexual intercourse to delay pregnancy and parenting during adolescence with an emphasis on physical, emotional, social, and economic benefits; and
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Parent-to-child communication about family sexual values and beliefs.
A portion of the federal money supports an evaluation of the program and a media campaign. A statewide evaluation was completed in September 2002 but the results were not made available. In 2005, a new statewide media campaign was implemented to convey the initiative’s sexual abstinence message using various media channels, including television, radio, billboards, and print ads, with the slogan “Sex Can Wait—You’re Worth It.” One of the television advertisements, entitled “Face,” uses messages of fear. In the advertisement, a teenage girl is sitting alone in a room. The voice-over states that “oral sex is sex and it has consequences that are real,” at which point the camera zooms in on the girls’ face. Her lips are surrounded by numerous cold sores, suggesting a herpes outbreak.
Another television advertisement, entitled “I Will,” also uses fear-based messages aimed at parents of teenage children. In this advertisement, a teenage girl says into the camera: “If you don’t talk to your son about sex, I will.” There is a variation of this same advertisement where a teenage boy says: “If you don’t talk to your daughter about sex, I will.”
The remaining funding is distributed to 25 sub-grantees, including a number of crisis pregnancy centers and Catholic medical centers that implement in-classroom instruction. No individual sub-grantee can receive more than $25,000. Some curricula used in Indiana include Baby Think It Over, Building Health Futures, Creating Positive Relationships, Navigator, PEERS, SAFE, Sex Can Wait, and Willing 2 Wait.
SIECUS reviewed Navigator and found that in order to convince high school students to remain abstinent until marriage, this curriculum alsorelies on messages of fear and shame, inaccurate and misleading information, and biased views of marriage, sexual orientation, and pregnancy options. Navigator incorrectly claims, “Any kind of sexual activity can spread STDs from one person to another.” It also states, “Navigator does not promote the use of contraceptives for teens. No contraceptive device is guaranteed to prevent pregnancy. Besides, students who do not exercise self-control to remain abstinent are not likely to exercise self-control in the use of a contraceptive device.”9
Kandace Brown from Clay Community Schools, a Title V sub-grantee, has signed the National Abstinence Leadership Council’s (NALC) Statement on Medical Accuracy, which attempts to establish credibility in medical accuracy for some of the most egregious and widely used curricula. NALC states, “We are committed to providing factual information based on research” and “we affirm that all medical information must be properly referenced from: peer-reviewed journals; government publications; medical publications; textbooks or other clearly-identified sources.”10 NALC is headed by some of the nation’s leading proponents of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, such as WAIT Training and Heritage Community Services. Despite the Council’s stated support for accurate information, many NALC members are well known for their promotion of programs and curricula that contain misinformation, medical inaccuracies, gender stereotypes, religious bias, and messages of fear and shame around sexuality.11 For example, the NALC suggests using the Choosing the Best series which was created by a member.
SIECUS reviewed both Choosing the Best PATH (for junior high school students) and Choosing the Best LIFE (for high school students) and found that they name numerous physical and psychological consequences of premarital sexual activity, suggest that sexually active teens will never have happy futures, and imply that only teens with low self-esteem and poor judgment become sexually active. For example, Choosing the Best LIFE states that “relationships often lower the self-respect of both partners—one feeling used, the other feeling like the user. Emotional pain can cause a downward spiral leading to intense feelings of lack of worthlessness (sic).”12
Creating Positive Relationships, Inc. created and uses an abstinence-only curriculum that encourages teens who have already been sexually active to adopt “secondary abstinence.” Several of Indiana’s sub-grantees implement the CPR curriculum, including True Life Choices, Inc.
The Crisis Pregnancy Center of Wabash Valley’s website contains little information about its abstinence program. The “Abortion Information” section presents graphic and misleading information about abortion procedures. For example, the website incorrectly explains: “After the cervix is dilated, forceps are used to pull apart the fetus whose bones are calcified by this stage of development. The skull of the fetus is then crushed for easy removal. A nurse reassembles the body parts to be sure that all are removed.”13 It goes on to suggest that “research has demonstrated that induced abortion does increase breast cancer risk. Among the general population of women, the risk of breast cancer is 12 percent. Comparing this to women who have had no children but have had one or more abortions, the risk of breast cancer is close to 50 percent.”14 These claims are inaccurate, according to the National Cancer Institute, the leading U.S.-based cancer research body. NCI’s fact sheet summarizes the research on this topic by saying that “large, well-designed studies have shown no link between abortion and miscarriage and breast cancer.”15
The website also contains religious messages. For example, it asks visitors, “What is God’s desire for you and your unborn child?”16
Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) and Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA) Grantees
There are three CBAE grantees in Indiana: A Positive Approach to Teen Health Inc., Abstinence for Singles, and Saint Vincent Randolph Hospital. There are no AFLA grantees in Indiana.
A Positive Approach to Teen Health, Inc. (PATH) has an interactive website with games, commercials, and movies for young people. In one game/movie, young people are encouraged to make choices to see how their “personal” story develops through a series of scenarios, such as a school dance. If the player chooses to have sex after the dance, he/she is given an “F” grade and the website says, “You have made a huge mistake by going outside where there were no chaperones, setting yourself up to fail. Getting inside the car alone with X made it much easier for sexual activity to occur, and you were unable to stop before it was too late.”17 After selecting different options to get the “A” grade, the website says, “You put enough distance between you during your dance so that you were not vulnerable. This protects your heart, your body, your reputation, and even a future relationship with X (or any other guy). This also protects your marriage one day.”18 In addition to shaming youth who are sexually active and portraying them as having a lack of control, the website assumes that all young people are heterosexual.
Another section of the PATH website, “On the Edge,” contains further information that shames youth who are sexually active. On a page titled “It’s Only Oral,” the website states, “In addition to the physical risks, oral sex can mess with your mind. You may feel serious regret over your loss of innocence, self-control or self-respect. You might get a reputation you don’t want or memories you can’t forget. Oral sex is powerful enough to not only damage existing relationships, but future ones, as well.”19
PATH also reinforces negative gender stereotypes with regards to behaviors, dating, and sex. In answer to the question, “Why are guys always talking about sex?,” the “Dear Doc” section of the website tells teens, “Males tend to think about sex more often than females, and often times what a person ‘thinks about’ is what they talk about.”20 In answer to the question, “Why do girls flirt so much?,” “Dear Doc” states, “Sometimes girls flirt to get attention. They may want to feel they are attractive to guys. Looking for this attention may be the cover for underlying insecurities, and having this attention lets them think they are at least good at one thing.”21
Federal and State Funding for Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs in FY 2006
Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Grantee
Length of Grant
|
Amount of Grant |
Type of Grant (includes Title V, CBAE, AFLA, and other funds) |
Indiana Department of Health
www.in.gov/isdh |
$754,073 federal |
Title V |
Bluffton Harrison M.S.D.
www.bhmsd.k12.in.us |
$6,415 |
Title V sub-grantee |
Campaign for Our Children, Novle County, Inc. |
$24,400 |
Title V sub-grantee |
Clarion Health Partners
www.clarian.org |
$25,000 |
Title V sub-grantee |
Clay Community Schools
www.clay.k12.in.us/corp/index.cfm |
$25,000 |
Title V sub-grantee |
Creating Positive Relationships
www.cprl.org |
$25,000 |
Title V sub-grantee |
Crisis Pregnancy Center of Wabash Valley
www.wabashcpc.org |
$25,000 |
Title V sub-grantee |
DeKalb County Campaign for Our Children |
$18,775 |
Title V sub-grantee |
Family Services Society, Inc.
www.famservices.com |
$25,000 |
Title V sub-grantee |
Hoosier Uplands (Mitchell, IN)
www.hoosieruplands.org |
$25,000 |
Title V sub-grantee |
Hoosier Uplands (North Lawrence, IN)
www.hoosieruplands.org |
$25,000 |
Title V sub-grantee |
Madison County Health Department
www.madisoncountyhealthdepartment.org |
$25,000 |
Title V sub-grantee |
New Hope Services, Inc.
www.newhopeservices.org |
$25,000 |
Title V sub-grantee |
Northern Indiana Community Foundation (PEERS Educating Peers)
www.nicf.org |
$25,000
|
Title V sub-grantee |
Our Place Drug & Alcohol Education Services |
$12,500 |
Title V sub-grantee |
A Positive Approach to Teen Health, Inc. (PATH) DUAL GRANTEE
2004–2007
www.pathblazer.org |
$25,000
$492,266
|
Title V sub-grantee
CBAE
|
Perry County Memorial Hospital
www.pchospital.org |
$22,597 |
Title V sub-grantee |
Saint Anthony Medical Center
www.saintanthonymedical center.com |
$25,000 |
Title V sub-grantee |
Saint Francis Hospital & Health Centers
www.stfrancishospitals.org |
$25,000 |
Title V sub-grantee |
Saint Margaret Mercy HealthCare Center
www.smmhc.com |
$25,000 |
Title V sub-grantee |
Taylor Community Schools
www.taylor.k12.in.us |
$25,000 |
Title V sub-grantee |
The King’s Daughters’ Hospital and Health Services
www.kingsdaughtershospital. org |
$25,000 |
Title V sub-grantee |
True Life Choices, Inc.
www.truelifechoices.org/ |
$25,000 |
Title V sub-grantee |
Vincennes Community School Corporation
www.vcsc.k12.in.us |
$24,999 |
Title V sub-grantee |
Women’s Care Center
www.womenscarecenter.org |
$25,000 |
Title V sub-grantee |
Abstinence for Singles
2006–2011
www.abstinenceforsingles.com |
$599,954 |
CBAE |
St. Vincent Randolph Hospital
2004–2007
www.stvincent.org |
$768,646 |
CBAE |
Title V Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Coordinator
Stephanie Woodcox, MPH, CHES
Adolescent Health Coordinator
Indiana State Department of Health
Maternal and Children’s Special Health Care Division
Community and Family Health Services Commission
2 N. Meridian St., Section 8-C
Indianapolis, In 46204
Phone: (317) 233-1374 |
Indiana Organizations that Support Comprehensive Sexuality Education
ACLU of Indiana
1031 East Washington St.
Indianapolis, IN 46202
www.iclu.org
|
Indiana National Organization for Women
P.O. Box 2264
Indianapolis, IN 46206
www.indiananow.home.comcast.net |
Indiana Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
P.O. Box 723
Lafayette IN 47902
Phone: (877) 441-5797
www.ircrc.org
|
Indiana Youth Group
P.O. Box 20716
Indianapolis, IN 46220
Phone: (317) 541-8726
www.indianayouthgroup.org |
The League of Women Voters of Indiana
10 West Market St., Suite 1720
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: (317) 241-VOTE
www.lwvin.org |
National Association of Social Workers—Indiana Chapter
1100 West 42nd St., Suite 226
Indianapolis, IN 46208
Phone: (317) 923-9878
www.naswin.org
|
Planned Parenthood of Indiana
200 South Meridian St.
P.O. Box 397
Indianapolis, IN 46206
Phone: (317) 637-4343
www.ppin.org |
Sexual Health Research Working Group
School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Building 116
Bloomington, IN 47405
Phone: (812) 855-0861
www.indiana.edu/~shrwg/frameset.html |
Indiana Organizations that Oppose Comprehensive Sexuality Education
American Family Association of Indiana
P.O. Box 26208
Indianapolis, IN 46226
Phone: (317) 541-9287
www.afain.net |
Indiana Family Institute
55 Monument Cir., Suite 322
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: (317) 423-9178
www.hoosierfamily.org |
Newspapers in Indiana
Evansville Courier & Press
Elizabeth Keeling
Health & Medicine Reporter
300 E. Walnut St.
Evansville, IN 47713
Phone: (812) 464-7450
|
Evansville Courier & Press
Linda Negro
Health & Medicine Editor
300 E. Walnut St.
Evansville, IN 47713
Phone: (812) 464-7504 |
Indianapolis Monthly
Education Editor
1 Emmis Plaza
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: (317) 237-9288 |
Indianapolis Star
Blair Claftin
Metro Editor
307 N. Pennsylvania St.
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: (317) 444-6385
|
Indianapolis Star
Washington D.C. Boreau
307 N. Pennsylvania St.
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: (202)- 406-8118
|
Indy’s Child
Education Editor
1901 Broad Ripple Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46220
Phone: (317) 722-8500 |
Journal & Courier
Dorothy Schneider
Health Reporter
217 N. 6th St.
Lafayette, IN 47901
Phone: 1-800-456-3223
|
The Journal Gazette
Krista Stockman
Education Reporter
600 W. Main St.
Fort Wayne, IN 46802
Phone: (260) 461-8457 |
The News-Sentinel
Rob Jonesbury
Assistant Metro Editor
600 W. Main St.
Fort Wayne, IN 46802
Phone: (260) 461-8444
|
Post-Tribune
Tara Wilson
Health & Medicine Editor
1433 E. 83rd Ave.
Merrillville, IN 46410
Phone: (219) 648-3080 |
South Bend Tribune
David Rumbach
Health & Medicine Writer
225 W. Colfax Ave.
South Bend, IN 46626
Phone: (574) 235-6358
|
The Star Press
Oseye Boyd
Education Writer
345 S. High St.
Muncie, IN 47305
Phone: (765) 213-5830 |
The Times
Robert Blaszkiewicz
Target Editor
601 45th Ave.
Munster, IN 46321
Phone: (219) 762-1397 ext. 2228
|
The Times
Olivia Clarke
Education Reporter
601 45th Ave.
Munster, IN 46321
Phone: (219) 933-4078 |
Tribune Star
Sue Loughlin
Education Writer
222 S. 7th St.
Terre Haute, IN 47807
Phone: (812) 231-4235 |
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References
- This refers to the fiscal year for the federal government which begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, Fiscal Year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- M. Fosmoe, “ND Students Don T-shirts to Support Gay, Lesbians,” South Bend Tribune, 19 March 2004.
- “Some ND Students Supporting Gay Club,” WNDUTV, 21 April 2004, accessed 2 1 March 2006 <http://wndu.com/news/042004/news_34732.php>.
- Fosmoe.
- “Some ND Students Supporting Gay Club.”
- Unless otherwise cited, all statistical information comes from Danice K. Eaton, et al., “Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—United States, 2005,” Surveillance Summaries, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, vol. 55, no. SS-5 (9 June 2006): 1-108, accessed 26 January 2007, <http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/yrbs/index.htm>.
- U.S. Teenage Pregnancy Statistics: Overall Trends, Trends by Race and Ethnicity and State-by-State Information (New York: The Guttmacher Institute, February 2004), accessed 26 January 2007, <http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/2006/09/12/USTPstats.pdf>.
- National Vital Statistics Reports 55.01 (Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, 2006), 10, accessed 26 January 2006, <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr55/nvsr55_01.pdf>.
- Scott Phelps and Libby Gray, Navigator: Finding Your Way to A Healthy and Successful Future (Golf, IL: Project Reality, 2003). For more information, see SIECUS’ review of Navigator at <http://www.communityactionkit.org/curricula_reviews.html>.
- “ National Abstinence Leadership Council Establishes Medical Guidelines to Assure Medically Accurate Information in Abstinence Education Programs,” Choosing the Best, Press Release published 25 October 2006, accessed 8 March 2007, <http://www.choosingthebest.org/press_room/press_release_7.html>.
- ‘Statement on Medical Accuracy,” the National Abstinence Leadership Council, 25 October 2006, accessed 30 January 2007, <http://www.ncfy.com/news/061030_nalcstatement.pdf>.
- Bruce Cook, Choosing the Best LIFE (Marietta, GA: Choosing the Best Inc., 2000); Bruce Cook, Choosing the Best PATH (Marietta, GA: Choosing the Best Inc., 2000). For more information, see SIECUS’ reviews of Choosing the Best LIFE and Choosing the Best PATH at <http://www.communityactionkit.org/curricula_reviews.html>.
- “Abortion Education Information,” Crisis Pregnancy Center of Wabush Valley, (2006), accessed 30 January 2007, <http://www.indstate.edu/wpc/abortEdu.php>.
- “Abortion Education Information,” Crisis Pregnancy Center of Wabush Valley, (2006), accessed 30 January 2007, <http://www.indstate.edu/wpc/abortEdu.php>.
- “What You Need to Know About Breast Cancer,” National Cancer Institute, (30 July 2005), accessed 30 January 2007, <http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/breast/page4>.
- “Abortion Education Information,” Crisis Pregnancy Center of Wabush Valley, (2006), accessed 30 January 2007, <http://www.indstate.edu/wpc/abortEdu.php>.
- “Choose Your Path,” PATH: A Positive Approach to Teen Health,(2006), accessed 12 January 2007, <http://www.pathblazer.org/_choose_your_path.shtml>.
- Ibid.
- “On the Edge,” PATH: A Positive Approach to Teen Health,(2006), accessed 22 January 2007, <http://www.pathblazer.org/_on_the_edge.shtml>.
- “Dear Doc” (2006), PATH: A Positive Approach to Teen Health,accessed 31 January 2007, <http://www.pathblazer.org/_dear_doc_FAQ.shtml>.
- Ibid.
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