Baby’s Death Shows Need for Sex Education

This week, the Orange County district attorney’s office decided not to prosecute a 15-year-old Santiago High School honors student whose newborn baby drowned as she gave birth to him in a toilet stall. But the tragedy points up the importance--indeed, urgency--of providing sex education programs that deal openly with ways to protect teen-agers against pregnancy and disease. And it points out the need for school-based health clinics where teen-agers can get help.

School-based clinics have proven successful at more than 150 schools across the nation, including three in Los Angeles. The clinics are the only form of general health care for many students; about a third of these young people do not even have health insurance. The clinics--some of which are paid for by school districts and others by outside agencies--generally also provide, on request, birth control information and pregnancy counseling.

Unfortunately, such clinics would no doubt prove controversial in Orange County, where certain elements of the community condemn even sex education programs that acknowledge that some teen-agers are sexually active. But under a new state law, all school districts providing sex eduction must emphasize abstinence as the preferred method of birth control and prevention of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. And abstinence is certainly preferable. But those teen-agers who are engaging in sexual activities need to know how to protect themselves. And once a girl becomes pregnant, too often she does not know where to turn.

Like it or not, schools have become a place where young people can be assisted in many ways that seemingly have little to do with getting an education. Even conservative politicians are recognizing this. U.S. Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.), a 1990 gubernatorial candidate, last week cited the Santiago High School incident in calling for the integration of social welfare services into the public school system.

Some who argue against providing birth control or pregnancy information say it might appear to condone or even encourage teen-age promiscuity. But studies indicate just the opposite. In Orange County, for example, the school district with the most comprehensive sex education program, Irvine Unified, has the lowest teen pregnancy rate. Meanwhile, Santa Ana Unified, which provides only what the state mandates, has the highest.

In 1987--the last year for which statistics are available--more than 3,000 Orange County women under the age of 19 became mothers. National studies indicate there are 1 million teen-age pregnancies annually, 84% of which are unintended and half of which end in abortion. In 1988 alone, families begun with a birth to a teen-ager cost $20 billion in welfare benefits. And there is no way to measure the hardship to the girls and their children.

Sex education has broad support in Orange County. A survey conducted for The Times’ Orange County Edition nearly a year ago indicates that an overwhelming 82% of the respondents--including 78% of those who labeled themselves “conservatives”--favor educating adolescents in public schools about the use of condoms to control the spread of AIDS. This would necessarily require a frank discussion of sexual intercourse. The survey also showed that 56% opposed the state law requiring schools to teach that abstinence is the only acceptable form of premarital birth control. Even among conservatives, half opposed that law.

These findings are a clear indication that, despite the outspoken opposition of some, sex education that includes specific birth control information has support in the community. It is time for those who see the value of such programs to step forward. And it is also time to establish school-based clinics where young people can freely go for help.