Joycelyn Elders: Surgeon-General's sex education report

Dr. Joycelyn Elders served as U.S. surgeon general in the Clinton administration from 1993-94. Dr. Elders joined Crossfire to discuss the recent report by U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher, entitled "The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Behavior."

CNN: Welcome, Dr. Joycelyn Elders, to the Crossfire chat room!

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JOYCELYN ELDERS: Hello!

CNN: Is this report over the edge?

JOYCELYN ELDERS: I don't think this report is over the edge. I think it's in keeping with the feelings of the American people, and in line with where the science is.

CNN: What do some perceive as controversial about the report?

JOYCELYN ELDERS: I think some perceive it to be controversial that the report is suggesting that we have health education in schools, and starting early. Some feel it is controversial that we make contraceptives available for those who need them. Some people consider it controversial that we respect homosexuality, whatever gender a person might be.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: Will this administration pay attention to this report?

JOYCELYN ELDERS: Once this report is done and out there for the American people, it's like speaking. Once it's out, you can't go back. I think this administration will have to pay attention to the needs of adolescents and parents of this country.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: Dr. Elders, should we devote more money to programs to educate children on sex?

JOYCELYN ELDERS: Yes. The simple answer is yes. I think we've spent a great deal of money on programs that are not comprehensive. I think we need comprehensive sex education programs if we want to make a difference in the lives of our children.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: Do you feel that there is a growing misunderstanding as to what the message you are trying to make is?

JOYCELYN ELDERS: I'm not sure there's a growing misunderstanding as to the message I'm trying to make. I think there are a lot of people who want to keep all messages regarding sex suppressed. I think they understand, I just think they want to try to suppress the message.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: Why wasn't this report released by the Clinton administration?

JOYCELYN ELDERS: I can't answer that, because I don't know. It was just prepared. When you have meetings, and you meet, you have to make a report. Then it has to go through bureaucracy before release. It was certainly done, but I don't know why it wasn't released. It's an excellent report, and I'm sure Clinton would have been pleased to have it released during his administration.

CNN: What are the major differences in the perception of sex education between the Clinton and Bush administrations?

JOYCELYN ELDERS: I don't know what the difference on sex education between the Bush and Clinton administrations is, but I do know that there's a group that believes that there should be no sex before marriage. I do know that the mean age for marriage is 26 years, and the mean age for onset of puberty is 11 years and 4 months. So, the fact that some people are abstinent for so many years is not very likely, as shown by what we do. The opposite side is that we need abstinence education that gives knowledge about safe sex and contraception.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: How much control does the federal government have over sex education?

JOYCELYN ELDERS: The federal government has very little control over sexuality education. Schools have that control. The federal government funds only 7 percent of public school education.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: Dr. Elders, if there's any truth to the decline in teen pregnancies, are there any data that say it's because of teen abstinence or the increased use in contraceptives?

JOYCELYN ELDERS: Well, I think it's both. The decline in teen pregnancy is due to both increased use of condoms and an increase in abstinence. It's both, but 70% or more is related to increased use of contraceptives.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: Why do you think parents avoid the issue? Are they uncomfortable or feel uninformed?

JOYCELYN ELDERS: I think it's both. Parents are uncomfortable talking about sex, and they don't know how, and they don't want to do it wrong. So what they do is, they just don't talk about it.

CNN: Will the sex education report released last week help decrease unwanted pregnancies?

JOYCELYN ELDERS: We hope that the sexual report will help to increase the awareness of all Americans of all ages about sexuality, and that it will decrease the incidence of unplanned, unwanted pregnancies, and decrease the incidence of disease. But we must use the information given to us.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: What should local leaders do to support health in our youth, including sex education, outside of schools or controversial organizations like Planned Parenthood?

JOYCELYN ELDERS: I think local leaders, parents and schools have a responsibility, churches have a responsibility, we doctors have a responsibility, and the community has a responsibility. We all have the responsibility to deal with these issues, and improve sexual health in this country.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: Dr. Elders, who is qualified to teach sexual education?

JOYCELYN ELDERS: They have health educators, just like we have English teachers. We can also train some of our other teachers to help. It needs to be taught across the age span, age appropriate and factual.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: Does the government ever consider that this knowledge is not always general, and that the students and parents-to-be are going to have to receive it somehow?

JOYCELYN ELDERS: I feel that the government has a responsibility to make information available to all communities, to all parents, and all children. I feel that this report is allowing school boards, teachers, communities to say this is what we need to do for our children. No one has ever put all the information together in one place and addressed the information before. I think our Surgeon-General needs to be commended for doing this.

CNN: Thank you for joining us this evening, Dr. Elders. Do you have any final thoughts you would like to share with us?

JOYCELYN ELDERS: It was a real pleasure to be here, and I hope we take this report and use it to improve the sexual health of all America.

CNN: Thank you again for joining us this evening.

JOYCELYN ELDERS: Thank you. Good-bye.

Dr. Joycelyn Elders joined the CNN.com chat room by telephone and CNN provided a typist. This is an edited transcript of the chat which took place on Monday, June 2, 2001, at 8 p.m. EDT.

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