Lambda Legal Asks Miss America to Make World AIDS Day Statement Clarifying 'Abstinence-Only' Views, Requests Details on Recent Speeches

(New York, Monday, November 25, 2002) - Saying that so-called “abstinence-only” programs are “nothing short of a public health hazard for our nation’s youth,” Lambda Legal today asked Miss America 2003, Erika Harold, to clarify her views supporting abstinence education and requested information from the Miss America Organization on three presentations about abstinence that Harold made to school students in recent days.

“As we approach World AIDS Day, ‘abstinence-only’ education is becoming one of the biggest obstacles in preventing the spread of HIV,” said Michael Adams, Director of Education and Public Affairs at Lambda Legal. “These programs provide inaccurate, incomplete and misleading information to young people - often even refusing to explain how HIV is spread or how condoms can help prevent HIV transmission.”

Harold was crowned Miss America in September when her platform was preventing harassment and bullying in schools, but later changed her platform to encouraging young people to abstain from sex, which has been widely interpreted as support for “abstinence-only” programs. In a letter to Harold today, Lambda Legal asked for clarification of her views in the form of a public statement for World AIDS Day, Dec. 1. The letter suggested that she use a scheduled speech to the National 4-H Congress in Atlanta on Monday, Dec. 2., to clarify her views publicly or issue a written statement for World AIDS Day. Lambda Legal also offered for its Atlanta-based staff to take Harold to a display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt Sunday or Monday, or for its Chicago-based staff to take her to an exhibit of “The Faces of AIDS: A Photo Documentary from the Heartland” on Friday or Saturday before she leaves for Atlanta.

“In the last few weeks, Erika Harold and the Miss America Organization have gotten something of a ‘free pass’ by talking vaguely about her intentions to promote ‘abstinence,’” Adams said. “Now that she’s out talking to students, both she and the Miss America Organization have an obligation to explain whether she’s talking about abstinence as one option along with safe-sex information or pushing an extreme and dangerous ‘abstinence-only’ agenda.”

Lambda Legal noted that former Miss Americas, as well as pageant title holders from dozens of states and other countries, have spoken out on World AIDS Day to express their support of people with HIV and AIDS and their commitment to help stop the spread of the disease. “Such a public statement of support and commitment is particularly needed from you,” Lambda Legal’s letter says. “Your silence on whether you support ‘abstinence-only’ education or comprehensive education that includes abstinence in a broader context has, thus far, been widely understood as support for programs that do not provide accurate, complete and honest information. The difference comes down to helping save young lives or directly putting our youth in harm’s way.”

In a separate letter today to George Bauer, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Miss America Organization, Lambda Legal requested details about three presentations on abstinence that Harold has given school students in recent days. On Saturday, Nov. 23, Harold spoke about abstinence to a group of students and teachers in Illinois, and on Nov. 15 she spoke about abstinence at two public high schools near Chicago. The Nov. 15 presentations were in conjunction with Project Reality, an “abstinence-only” group that omits information about condom use and for whom Harold worked for the last three years.

Lambda Legal asked the Miss America Organization whether Harold talked only about abstinence in those three recent presentations, or if she included information on safer sex and various forms of protection. The letter also asks whether parents of the students who attended the presentations knew Harold would be speaking about abstinence rather than her original, widely publicized platform of harassment and bullying in schools.

“This is not about Erika Harold’s right to speak out about what she believes. As the leading organization fighting for the legal rights of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered people and those with HIV or AIDS, we’ve been fighting for three decades to have our rights respected - and we’re not about to infringe on hers,” Adams said. “But if she’s going to talk about these issues, she has a responsibility to be completely forthright and honest about her agenda.” To help youth, parents and community members nationwide ensure that schools aren’t replacing comprehensive sex education with “abstinence-only” programs, Lambda Legal published “Tell Me the (Whole) Truth: School Supplies to Get Real Sex Education” this fall. The kit outlines a broad range of serious concerns about “abstinence-only” programs, pointing out that they are often inaccurate or incomplete, that they have never been proven effective and that they ignore the needs and concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered youth. In a letter sent this week to hundreds of education groups and youth organizations nationwide, Lambda Legal provided practical tips on how to mark World AIDS Day with a stepped-up commitment to comprehensive sex education.

Concerned that Harold’s Nov. 23 and Nov. 15 presentations may not have included complete, honest and accurate information for youth to protect themselves from HIV and other diseases, Lambda Legal’s Chicago-based staff this week reached out to youth and educators in those areas with the “Tell Me the (Whole) Truth” toolkit and the practical tips. “This World AIDS Day we have a simple message that we’re taking to these groups and all across the country: Real sex education saves lives,” Adams said.

For more information, read the letters to Bauer and Harold, along with the full content of “Tell Me the (Whole) Truth: Schools Supplies to Get Real Sex Education” and the letters sent today to educators and youth groups nationwide.

Contact: Eric Ferrero, 212/809-8585 ext. 227; 888/987-1984 (pager)