MEDIA ADVISORY            MEDIA ADVISORY             MEDIA ADVISORY           MEDIA ADVISORY

Public Debate on Sex Education
Should abstinence-only sex education be taught in primary and secondary school health curricula?

Abstinence-only education programs have been gaining in popularity since passage of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act, which allocated $50 million annually over the course of five years for programs that promote abstinence and do not discuss contraception. While the Bush administration has accelerated this trend by dramatically increasing federal funding for abstinence-only education programs, many critics, including organizations such as the American Medical Association, argue that such programs do not work and should be shelved in favor of “comprehensive” sex education curricula that emphasize safer sex practices and contraception. The public debate over which form of sex education should be taught in American schools affects nearly everyone and touches on a wide array of issues including the “epidemic” of sexually-transmitted disease afflicting American teens, effectiveness of various programs, cultural aspects of sexuality, and the role of religion in public life. To explore these issues in a deliberative and pedagogical setting, the University of Pittsburgh’s William Pitt Debating Union is hosting a debate on abstinence-only sex education. Each side in the debate features a prominent expert in the field paired with an accomplished student intercollegiate debater. A panel of questioners will include Erika Herald, Miss America 2003. The debate will be moderated by Dr. Gordon R. Mitchell, Associate Professor of Communication and Director of Debate at the University of Pittsburgh.

Affirmative team
• Margaret Meeker, MD. Pediatrician from Traverse City, MI.
• Darinka Maldonado. Sophomore debater at the University of Pittsburgh.

Opposition team
• Brenda Green. Vice-president of Education for the Pittsburgh chapter of Planned Parenthood.
• Allison Hahn. Senior debater at the University of Pittsburgh.

Panel of questioners
• Erika Herald. Miss America 2003.
• Candice Ferguson. Sophomore debater at the University of Pittsburgh

The debate will take place on Thursday, November 20 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. in the Parran Hall Auditorium at the Graduate School of Public Health Building, 130 DeSoto Street, Oakland. Doors for media will open at 5:30 p.m.

For more information, please contact Gordon Mitchell (624-8531) or Peg Chalus (624-2887) at the 
William Pitt Debating Union