Sunday, May 07, 2006

Government Seeks a Good Balance of Right and Wrong

Science is not interested in balance, it is a quest for knowledge. One belief can be superior to another, according to some well-established guidelines -- it accords better with the empirical data, it explains more phenomena more thoroughly than the competing belief, it is parsimonious, it is self-consistent and consistent with other known facts. Once it was established that the earth went around the sun, there was no need any more to maintain "balance" by keeping the sun-goes-around-the-earth theory alive. It was wrong, and it was dropped.

Now there is this idea of abstinence-only education. The religious nuts like it, and the people they have elected into power know that supporting it will get them more of the nut-vote. Scientists who look at it don't see anything positive about it. Hey, that's just the way it is, sometimes an idea doesn't work. So then you put the flat-earthers on a geophysics panel. Don't you?

The CDC were going to have a panel on abstinence education at a conference on STDs. You know, there would be peer-reviewed presentations, that sort of thing.
Researchers organizing a federal panel on sexually transmitted diseases say the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention allowed a congressman to include two abstinence-only proponents, bypassing the scientific approval process.

Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., who chairs the House subcommittee on drug policy, questioned the balance of the original panel, which focused on the failure of abstinence-until-marriage programs. In e-mail to Health and Human Services officials, his office asked whether the CDC was "clear about the controversial nature of this session and its obvious anti-abstinence objective."

Last week the title of the panel was changed and two members were replaced. One of them was a Penn State student who was going to talk about how abstinence programs were tied to rising STD rates. Abstinence debate roils talk on STDs; PSU student eliminated from panel

This goes beyond simply recommending something, or submitting papers to the conference. In fact, these guys didn't even submit their papers, the congressman just ordered the conference to take them.
Scientists have complained about increasing government interference. Last year, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration officials told coordinators of a conference on suicide prevention to remove the words gay, lesbian and bisexual from its program and add a session on faith-based suicide prevention.

This was the first time, conference organizers said, that a single politician had so clearly interfered and achieved such dramatic results. The concern, they said, was that studies on sexual behavior would not be made public if they jarred with the administration's views on abstinence and other public-health issues.

"At the CDC, they're beside themselves," said Jonathan Zenilman, president of the American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association and conference organizer. "These people aren't scientists; they haven't written anything. The only reason they're here is because of political pressure from the administration."

Neither of the new speakers -- Patricia Sulak, an ob/gyn and director of the Worth the Wait program, and Eric Walsh, a California physician -- went through the peer-review process required of other participants, although CDC officials did not explain why. Both panelists were funded by the HHS, although others said they were told they had to pay their own way.

This article in Pennsylvania's Centre Daily Times talks a little bit about the political issue ivolved.
Sex education has been a hot-button topic between public-health officials and politicians for years. The president's 2007 budget request increases abstinence-program funding to $204 million, up $22 million from 2006, according to Bruce Trigg, who heads an STD program in New Mexico and is one of the panel members.

In most of these programs, Trigg said, it is mandated that when condoms are discussed, it is only to point out failure rates and how they are not 100 percent effective.

Condom use does prevent pregnancy and STDs, health officials say, and if people aren't encouraged to use them, they will be at risk for both.

Abstinence-only proponents say it is hard to measure their programs because often other sex education is involved. But Zenilman said the conference panel focused on the problems with abstinence programs because there are no credible data -- and no credible applicants offering otherwise.

"We've spent $1.2 billion over a 25-year period on abstinence-only programs. Shouldn't we have one study that shows that they work?" asked William Smith, director for public policy for the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States. He is no longer on the panel.

Just like magic. He said that and ... "he is no longer on the panel."
Oster was called last week and told she would not be on the panel, where she was going to talk about how abstinence programs were tied to rising STD rates.

"It absolutely scares me," she said, "that there's this pressure to eliminate viable research from a professional conference."

Later, a representative from the office of Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.) criticized her work in an e-mail message.

Coburn spokesman John Hart questioned why the CDC would present data that contradict the administration's policy.

"I'm not suggesting that their views shouldn't be debated," he said, "but should federally funded tax dollars be used to do that?"

The new panel is titled "Public Health Strategies of Abstinence Programs for Youth."

This kind of thing scares me more than anything that's going on today. Well, actually, I'm more profoundly scared about the long-term effects this administration is having on the economy, but in the short run, the decay of reason is most deplorable. Can you imagine anyone suggesting that the CDC -- the Centers for Disease Control, who we count on to set intelligent policies about our health -- should only consider data that do not "contradict the administration's policy?"

And the fact that the American people sit there and accept the erosion of common sense ...

12 Comments:

Anonymous Tish said...

Which weighs more? A pound of feathers, or a pound of gold?

The administration is not seeking balance. In order to have balance, you have to have elements of equal weight. If you pile on enough feathers, eventually you'll have a pound of them and they'll balance your gold. But this administration is piling on something with no weight at all. Let's call it "horse feathers." No matter how many horse feathers you put on the panel, they will not be able to balance well-crafted scientific evidence because horse feathers are without scientific value or weight.

May 08, 2006 4:16 PM  
Blogger Christine said...

Today's Washington Post reports, Bruce Trigg of the New Mexico Department of Public Health, the original organizer, condemned the decision as political meddling in the scientific process. The original panel was vetted through a formal peer-review process by independent researchers.

"It is unprecedented that this type of interference takes place at a scientific meeting," Trigg said. He said the original panel was not designed to be a balanced critique but to present the public health concerns about abstinence programs.

"I have nothing to fear from a balanced program. They would have been welcome to submit abstracts for review and consideration. The claim is this is about a public health program when it's really about ideology and religion," Trigg said.


The Washington Post also quoted Rep. Souder's spokesman, Martin Green.

"What was basically a propaganda panel has had its politicized nature removed and appears now to be a more accurate reflection of the scientific opinion," Green said.

The facts make it abundently clear who had the political agenda and who was trying to accurately reflect scientific opinion.

Christine

May 09, 2006 11:04 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is a confusion that I thought we cleared in last week's discussion. Whether abstinence or condoms works better at preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease is possibly a scientific question, although one with a perfectly evident conclusion.

What teaching method or curriculum has what effect is not a scientific question but an educational one. The effectiveness has more to do with how it is implemented than the content. Most Americans want sex ed taught to teenagers in a moral context.

May 09, 2006 12:50 PM  
Blogger Dana Beyer, M.D. said...

Yes, Wyatt, in a moral context -- an American moral context. Not your fundamentalist Christian, "end-of-days" moral context.

The days of you guys as the purveyors of "family values" are over.

May 10, 2006 8:38 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dr D

Where have you been? I thought you dropped out because you were running for something and didn't want to have a public record maintained of your foolish ramblings.

I don't know what you mean by a "fundamentalist Christian, "end-of-days" moral context". The distinctive of Christianity is not its moral code but its solution to the condition of mankind. The moral positions of Christianity are actually fairly catholic, including, if polls are correct, most Americans of any faith.

By the way, I'm an anonymous commenter who hasn't identified himself.

Straw Man

May 10, 2006 10:30 AM  
Blogger Christine said...

Whether abstinence or condoms works better at preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease is possibly a scientific question, although one with a perfectly evident conclusion.

Determining which method works best to prevent pregnancy and STDs is definitely a question science can answer. Data show the Ring Thing abstinence-only/pledge program has a failure rate of 88% and condoms have an 85% success rate at preventing unplanned pregnancy and HIV/AIDS with typical usage.

Most Americans want sex ed taught to teenagers in a moral context.

Most Americans want comprehensive sex education because it includes instruction on both abstinence and contraception. All parents want teenagers to abstain. Thank goodness the majority of parents are realistic enough to know that those who don't (like the 88% who break their Ring Thing pledge) need to know how to protect themselves and others.

Christine

May 10, 2006 11:31 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Whether abstinence or condoms works better at preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease is possibly a scientific question, although one with a perfectly evident conclusion.

Determining which method works best to prevent pregnancy and STDs is definitely a question science can answer. Data show the Ring Thing abstinence-only/pledge program has a failure rate of 88% and condoms have an 85% success rate at preventing unplanned pregnancy and HIV/AIDS with typical usage."

Christine, you're quite wrong here. The "Ring Thing" (and I know some teens doing it)is not a prevention method but an encouragement to those who have chosen the best method. Education is the discipline that deals with encouragement- not science. It's really ridiculous, as we've seen before, to say that science can prove that something can't be taught or encouraged. What science can say with assurance is that abstinence is 100% effective in prevention of pregnancy and STDs.

By the way, your 88% study is dubious in extremis. The CDC says half of all teenagers engage in sexual activity in high school. Hard to believe that kids in abstinence programs do it almost twice as much as the general population.

"Most Americans want sex ed taught to teenagers in a moral context.

Most Americans want comprehensive sex education because it includes instruction on both abstinence and contraception. All parents want teenagers to abstain. Thank goodness the majority of parents are realistic enough to know that those who don't (like the 88% who break their Ring Thing pledge) need to know how to protect themselves and others."

There's a right and wrong way to teach it. The poll by NPR/Harvard discussed last week by Jim shows two-thirds of Americans want abstinence to be THE main element of any comp sex ed curriculum. You can't honestly say the Fishback revisions had that quality. There was no movie, for example, about abstinence nor was contraception portrayed as a technique used by married individuals. Indeed, the curriculum went out of the way to use phrases such as "partner" rather than "spouse" so as to marginalize the significance of marriage.

May 10, 2006 2:54 PM  
Blogger Dana Beyer, M.D. said...

Wyatt,

I'm really sorry to see that you wouldn't acknowledge our agreement about the future of Iraq. Not that it's relevant to this blog, nor to my campaign, but agreement with one's adversaries is a good thing. Similar to George Clooney and Sam Brownback being together on Darfur, as I've said.

Anyway, thanks for pointing out my campaign. I'm running for state delegate here in Maryland, while you're still running for cover.

That's ok. Obviously I don't mind a paper trail, while you do. Oh, and last I looked the traditional family for which you retrosexual Biblicists pine was composed of a family patriarch with 3-4 wives and as many concubines as he could afford. Not a common scenariio in these United States today outside of an area in southern Utah.

May 10, 2006 10:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"I'm really sorry to see that you wouldn't acknowledge our agreement about the future of Iraq. Not that it's relevant to this blog, nor to my campaign, but agreement with one's adversaries is a good thing. Similar to George Clooney and Sam Brownback being together on Darfur, as I've said."

I thought I did acknowledge the agreement. You might have a processing problem. We've also agreed on a number of issues but you seem to want to dwell on the bad times.

"Anyway, thanks for pointing out my campaign."

No problem. Have you got a website set up detailing your positions on issues, or why you're running? I'd love to see it.

"I'm running for state delegate here in Maryland, while you're still running for cover."

You wouldn't want a religious believer running for office would you? Not someone who is responsible all the world's troubles.

You know, anonymity is the big draw of this whole blog phenomena. It allows a freer discussion than can be had in more traditional forums. I think if you'll look back you'll find that those identify themselves and share their personal stories actually stifle discussion. No one wants to offend them by contradicting their personal testimonials. Not the most effective way to discuss issues.

"That's ok. Obviously I don't mind a paper trail, while you do. Oh, and last I looked the traditional family for which you retrosexual Biblicists pine was composed of a family patriarch with 3-4 wives and as many concubines as he could afford. Not a common scenariio in these United States today outside of an area in southern Utah."

Well, at least in those ancient relationships, the principle of parental and paternal responsibilities was maintained. As I think we've previously discussed, there's a dynamic between male and female that makes families the most stable organizing unit of society.

Hey, by the way, I'm an anonymous commenter who hasn't identified themself.

May 11, 2006 10:48 AM  
Blogger Dana Beyer, M.D. said...

I apologize if I missed your note of agreement. The blog has been very twitchy of late, and for awhile there all my comments disappeared.

I disagree about the anonymity. I think it's helpful for a time, to allow someone to get her feet wet in a new discussion group, or a new medium, but after that it detracts from the quality of the content. You, a stickler for personal responsibility, should know that better than most. When people believe there are no consequences to their words or actions they are much less likely to behave in a civilized manner.

Which is all the more reason for teaching comprehensive sex-ed. So kids can learn all the potential consequences, the positive and negative, of their actions.

May 11, 2006 11:14 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

gracias

May 11, 2006 11:32 AM  
Blogger Christine said...

Anonymous said...Christine, you're quite wrong here. The "Ring Thing" (and I know some teens doing it)is not a prevention method but an encouragement to those who have chosen the best method.

The Ring Thing is a program that encourages teens to practice abstinenence as their only prevention method. The meager information given about all other prevention methods in abstinence-only programs is insufficient at best.

Education is the discipline that deals with encouragement- not science. It's really ridiculous, as we've seen before, to say that science can prove that something can't be taught or encouraged.

The discipline that determines if "education" and "encouragement" are effective is science. The vast majority of scientific studies have concluded that encouragement of abstinence alone is not enough to protect teenagers from unplanned pregnancy and STDs.

What science can say with assurance is that abstinence is 100% effective in prevention of pregnancy and STDs.

That's your spin, a partial truth. Science would finish the sentence and say "Abstinence is 100% effective in prevention of pregnancy and STDs with perfect use.

By the way, your 88% study is dubious in extremis. The CDC says half of all teenagers engage in sexual activity in high school. Hard to believe that kids in abstinence programs do it almost twice as much as the general population.

Teens who choose to attend abstinence pledge programs like Ring Thing don't represent all teenagers -- they are a self-selected sample. Teens who choose to attend abstinence pledge programs like the Ring Thing are obviously thinking about sex, which probably explains the data quite well.

Most Americans want sex ed taught to teenagers in a moral context. There's a right and wrong way to teach it. The poll by NPR/Harvard discussed last week by Jim shows two-thirds of Americans want abstinence to be THE main element of any comp sex ed curriculum. You can't honestly say the Fishback revisions had that quality.

Yes I can. You really ought to try reading the curriculum some time. In the revised 8th grade curriculum, the term "abstinence" was mentioned 13 times and in the 10th grade curriculum it was mentioned 11 times. Also in these revised lesson plans that were to include information about sexual orientation, the term "homosexual" was mentioned 8 times in 8th grade and 3 times in 10th grade.

There was no movie, for example, about abstinence nor was contraception portrayed as a technique used by married individuals.

I repeat -- you really ought to try reading the curriculum some time. These films are available to all MCPS health teachers (From http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/curriculum/health/gr9a.htm):

"Real People: Teens Who Choose Abstinence," V4870
"Teenage Sex: Resisting the Pressure," V4975
"Sex, Lies and the Truth," V3925
"It Only Takes Once," V2559
"Saying No: A Few Words to Young Adults About Sex," V3431
"Sexual Responsibility: A Two-Way Street," V3782
"Hope is Not a Method," V4044
"Great Chastity Experiment," (abstinence) V1730
"Who Do You Listen To? Choosing Sexual Abstinence," V5544
"This Ain't No Dress Rehearsal: Abstinence and Teens," V6063
"Real People Relationships: When They Help, When They Hurt," V5895

Indeed, the curriculum went out of the way to use phrases such as "partner" rather than "spouse" so as to marginalize the significance of marriage.

Which curriculum are you talking about? It sure isn't the one from MCPS.
In the MCPS revised curriculum, the term "partner" was mentioned 4 times in 8th grade and never in 10th grade.
The term "spouse" was mentioned 0 times in 8th grade and 2 times in 10th grade.
The term "marriage" was mentioned 6 times in 8th grade and 7 times in 10th grade.
The term "parents" was mentioned 5 times in 8th grade and 3 times in 10th grade.

Christine

May 12, 2006 3:43 PM  

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