For more than 30 years, teaching about condom use, STDs and sexual safety has been the cornerstone of the nation's sex education repertoire, but some say it's time to put more money toward focusing on abstinence.

In response to more lawmakers advocating abstinence education programs in American schools, Congress recently approved funding increases to close the gap between comprehensive and abstinence programs.

In 2002, The Heritage Foundation found that for every $12 provided for comprehensive sex education programs, only $1 is provided for abstinence education.

On Nov. 20, Congress approved more than $131 million for abstinence education programs as part of a $388-billion spending bill. The funding is about $100 million less than President Bush requested.

"Our mission isn't to strip comprehensive sexual education from funding, but we want kids to hear the message of abstinence," said Kimberly Martinez, executive director of the Abstinence Clearinghouse, which is based in South Dakota. The group uses age-appropriate, factual and medically referenced material to promote sexual abstinence until marriage, Martinez said.

"We just want the parity, the chance to teach kids as much about abstinence as they are currently being taught about contraceptive use," Martinez said.

But some local sex educators and health specialists argue that ignoring a message that includes information about condom use leaves students without the knowledge necessary to make healthy decisions.

"At some point in most people's lives, they will have sex," said Wendy Sellers, comprehensive school health coordinator for Eaton Intermediate School District in Charlotte. "Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but at some point, they need to learn safe sex behaviors so they'll be prepared when they do decide to have sex."

Sellers is a registered nurse and provides certification training for teachers looking to teach both abstinence education and comprehensive sex education in public schools.

Under the new funding increases, money goes to abstinence programs rather than those that include instruction in contraceptive use. But more than 60 percent of high school seniors have had sex, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Proponents of comprehensive sex education say those statistics can't be ignored.

When children are taught both abstinence and risk reduction, they're more likely to postpone sex, less likely to get diseased or pregnant and more likely to use condoms when they decide to have sex, Sellers said.

Michigan schools aren't required by law to teach sex education, but they are required to teach HIV prevention. Additionally, the Michigan Sexuality Education Law states that every district that decides to teach sex education has to have the school board approve the proposal.

The law also requires that if a school teaches sex education, they have to teach abstinence.

"The way people make healthy decisions is to empower them with knowledge," said Dennis Martell, health educator with Olin Health Center. "And you can't use morality to restrict knowledge."

The 2004 National College Health Assessment survey found that about 75 percent of MSU students are sexually active, meaning they've had intercourse in the last year, Martell said.

When Olin provided free condoms to MSU students last year, Martell said three things happened - sexually transmitted diseases decreased, unwanted pregnancies reduced and sexual activity stayed the same.

"Giving people sex education will not increase their want to have sex," Martell said. "All it will do is help them make better decisions about sex."

A national evaluation of the effectiveness of abstinence education programs has been stalled, and a final report isn't expected until 2006.

But Martinez argued that abstinence works 100 percent of the time in preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, unlike condoms.

"You've never seen or heard about anyone who died of virginity, but you see people dying of STDs," Martinez said. "We just want kids to have long lives, lives that aren't cut short."

Evan Rondeau can be reached at rondeau1@msu.edu