APPLETON – Earlier this spring, Heidi Meyer received a text from her son, a freshman at Appleton North High School.
The text said something along the lines of, “Oh, we have a pro-life speaker in health class.”
Meyer was thrown off, but asked her son what made him think the speaker was “pro-life.”
There was certain language the speaker used about all lives being entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, he said. And, he said, she had students recite a pledge to “start over” and avoid sexual activity until marriage.
“It bothers me that there’s a push for marriage and this ancient idea that there’s no sex before marriage,” Meyer told The Post-Crescent.
Wisconsin school districts aren’t required to teach sexual education, but Appleton does. For districts that do choose to teach sex ed, there are recommended topics in the state statutes, including — but not limited to — the benefits of marriage and abstinence as the preferred choice.
More:Wisconsin schools don't have to teach sex ed, but if they do, here's what the state suggests
Abstinence until marriage is one part of the discussion, but administrators said, overall, the district's focus should be on teaching students how to think and lead healthy lives, rather than telling them what to think or do.
The guest speaker in Meyer’s son’s class was from Vida Medical Clinic in Appleton. According to its website, Vida supports men and women through unplanned pregnancies and parenting young children under challenging circ*mstances.All of its services are free.
Vida has two registered nurses who are certified sexual risk avoidance educators, representatives from the clinic told The Post-Crescent. For the 2022-23 academic year, they presented to more than 2,000 students at public and private schools or other settings like church youth groups.
In this case, Superintendent Greg Hartjes said, the speaker was more right-leaning or conservative than the district would want.
“Poor decision on that educator’s part,” he said. “Nothing more, nothing less.”
Students were given a brochure from a pro-life publisher
Meyer knew there would be a sex education unit, and she told The Post-Crescent she didn’t have a problem with that. But she didn’t know why there needed to be a guest speaker from a clinic that doesn’t offer birth control or refer for abortions — as is listed on its website.
Abortion is effectively outlawed in Wisconsin, except in cases where the pregnant person could die without one.
Vida is not a political organization, according to Executive Director Anne Tretinyak. Neutrality is at the core of what the clinic does, Tretinyak said, because the goal is to affirm people's worth and let them know they are "not defined by their mistakes."
When asked why the clinic doesn't offer birth control, Tretinyak said there are plenty of other places in the Fox Valley where people can access birth control.
In regard to youth education, Vida doesn't cover the topic of abortion because it's outside the scope of "sexual risk avoidance," which boils down to abstinence education. If a student asks a question, the instructor will answer if appropriate, according to an FAQ document Vida shared with The Post-Crescent.
Vida also doesn't teach about safe sex or contraception because schools invite them in to talk only about sexual risk avoidance, another FAQ says.
Meyer said the speaker gave students a pamphlet titled “How safe is sex?” It’s published by Life Cycle Books, which describes itself as "the first pro-life educational materials distribution center in North America."
More:Is abortion legal in Wisconsin? Here's how the overturning of Roe v. Wade affects Wisconsin abortion laws
The pamphlet lists the form of transmission, symptoms and treatment for different viral and bacterial sexually transmitted infections, or STIs.
While the pamphlet wasn't inaccurate, it focuses on worst-case scenarios, said Kim Shefchik, a physician assistant who specializes in obstetrics and gynecology at Bellin Health Generations.
For example, the brochure says bacterial STIs are curable but can lead to long-term health consequences, including sterility and death.
"Death from an STI? That’s a long way out," Shefchik said.
The only form of birth control covered in the pamphlet is condoms.
“When a condom fails it can cause a life to begin (pregnancy) or can cause major health problems or even death (STIs),” it says. “‘Safe sex’ can be very risky.”
Again, Shefchik said death from an STI is "very, very, very rare," but acknowledged it can happen.
Under the section on HPV (human papillomavirus infection), it does not mention the vaccine, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says is safe and effective at preventing certain cancers.
There’s also a chart showing an increased risk of becoming infected with an STI by having multiple sexual partners. If someone has had sex with 10 people, the chart says, then that person has really been exposed to over 1,000 people who could potentially give them an STI.The chart assumes each of those 10 people has also had sex with 10 people.
Shefchik said she appreciated the chart because she feels people can lose sight of the increased exposure with more sexual partners.
Talking about sexual health is important, Shefchik said, but teenagers are also facing a mental health crisis with soaring levels of anxiety. Conversations around sexual health should be empowering and talk about ways to maximize safety, not just invoke fear, she said.
“When we just look at sex from the lens of disease and pregnancy, we perpetuate the stigma of talking about this,” she said.
“Fear tends to accentuate stigma, and now we’re afraid to talk about something because now we feel that judgment,” she added.
Appleton’s curriculum emphasizes abstinence, decision-making skills
Appleton uses a "skills-based" health curriculum, said Mikki Duran, health and human performance program leader. The curriculum is divided into seven skill areas, such as decision making and goal setting, to help students lead healthier lives.
Sexual health is one topic talked about under each skill area. Other topics include nutrition, injury prevention and mental health. For example, when students are learning about interpersonal communication, they learn about helping someone with an eating disorder get professional help and effective communication in a dating relationship.
The district teaches abstinence, but Duran said it’s not the only topic covered. The curriculum also includes contraceptives, healthy relationships, fetal development, understanding the risks and outcomes of sexual activity and more.
Bringing in speakers is up to each individual teacher.
Duran said the district teaches medically accurate and unbiased information.
Parents who don't want their children to participate can opt for an independent study version, according to the letter sent to parents from the district.
“We’re Switzerland,” she said. “We want every individual to be an individual. And our curriculum, because it’s skills-based, allows that person to become an individual.”
Hartjes echoed Duran’s comment.
“We are going to teach kids how to think, not what to think,” he said.
Vida probably won’t be asked to speak in AASD health classes again
Teachers, as professional educators, are given the autonomy to figure out how best to engage their students, Hartjes said. And speakers are often brought in as a way to better captivate students and offer the perspective of someone working in a particular industry or field.
“We can’t know what goes on in 6,000 classes every day,” Hartjes said. “We rely on our educators.”
Meyer said she reached out to her son’s teacher and was told Vida was chosen because it has up-to-date medical information and is unbiased.
It hadn’t been discussed with the full leadership team when Hartjes spoke with The Post-Crescent in May, but he said there will probably be communication with the principal about not bringing back the speaker from Vida, since the organization doesn’t align with the district’s curriculum.
Hartjes also said he appreciates a parent bringing the situation to his attention so the district can address it.
In addition to the feedback Hartjes received, numerous parents talked about it on a Facebook page for moms and caregivers in the Appleton area. They had a range of opinions on the materials, both in favor and against it.
Reach AnnMarie Hilton at ahilton@gannett.com or 920-370-8045. Follow her on Twitter at @hilton_annmarie.
