June 22, 2009

PRESS RELEASE

Heartbeat International Honors Servant Leaders
Pauline and George Economon Recognized for Leading in Love

Richmond, VA – Heartbeat International paid tribute to the long-time service of five inspiring leaders in the service area of the pro-life movement at the Heartbeat International Annual Conference May 21, 2009.

“Janet Trenda (California), John Tabor (Arizona), Pauline and George Economon (North Dakota), and Dr. Levon Yuille (Michigan) have servant hearts and lead with Christ-like compassion,” said Heartbeat International President Peggy Hartshorn, Ph.D.  “The Servant Leader Award is our way of honoring key leaders who have risen to the challenge of saving and changing lives with a servant’s attitude and a leader’s ingenuity.”

Pauline and George Economon have poured their time, treasure and talent into operating Fargo, ND’s FirstChoice Clinic since 2001. Pauline, with Masters Degrees in Nursing and Theology, serves as its Executive Director while George, who this past September was one of 14 pregnancy resource center volunteers to receive the President’s Volunteer Achievement award, serves as its Special Projects Director.

Nearly 500 directors, Board members, staff, and volunteers from life-affirming organizations joined in honoring Pauline and George Economon as well as Janet Trenda, John Tabor and Dr. Levon Yuille as this year’s Heartbeat International Servant Leaders.

Heartbeat International (www.heartbeatinternational.org), founded in 1971, is an interdenominational Christian association of nearly 1,100 pregnancy resource centers, maternity homes, non-profit adoption agencies, and medical clinics in 48 states and 47 countries.

Educating young women who are making decisions regarding abortion is critical. I feel we need to honestly look at what is critically lacking in our society and realize that women often choose abortion out of despair. If women are provided information on the medical and support services available to them, over 80% of them will choose to carry their pregnancy.   Programs on parenting education, adoption awareness, and fatherhood education all help to support women and men who are unprepared for a pregnancy. Our schools need fatherhood and marriage education programs. To quote president-elect Obama “We need fathers to realize that responsibility does not end at conception. We need them to realize that what makes you a man is not the ability to have a child — it’s the courage to raise one.”   Additionally, we need to promote an awareness of the positive option of adoption. Adoption waiting lists are long and so yes, every child conceived is wanted and loved.

Kromenaker recommends more availability of IUD’s and implantable contraceptives as a means to reduce unplanned pregnancies. Again, we need to honestly evaluate the health and safety of contraceptives.  The IUD lost favor in the USA years ago because of several legal class-action suits charging serious damage/death to women from the effects of the IUD.  According to these lawsuits and medical reports, many women suffered Toxic Shock Syndrome which can -- or did -- lead to death.  The implantable contraceptive Norplant has been taken off the market in the US because of medical risks to women and presently has over 70 class action suits filed against the drug manufacturer.  Additionally, little is said about the sometimes life threatening side effects of these harsh contraceptives that many women suffer with. 

There are better methods available for couples to plan their families. These don’t introduce anything chemical or foreign to the body – they are completely safe. New methods of fertility awareness are safe and effective for couples to use to either achieve or avoid a pregnancy. These are medically based methods, grounded in science and are as or more effective than any contraceptive. Better still, utilizing these methods brings an aspect sorely lacking in relationships – responsibility!  Couples learn that both the husband and wife are involved in planning their families -- the underlying philosophy of using a method of natural family planning is that every child is wanted and loved.

Kromenaker mentioned “comprehensive sex education”. Teaching contraception and safer sex in our public schools has not reduced unplanned pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases in our youth.  Research conducted over the past 30 years supports Positive Youth Development programs that empower teens and young adults to delay sexual debut.  It only makes sense that if children aren’t engaging in sex there is little chance of pregnancy or STD’s. Simply saying “they are going to do it anyway” is not a valid argument.  If we as a society set low expectations, our children will sink to them.  Positive Youth Development programs seek to raise the bar and help children succeed and help them to believe in themselves.  Research supports that by stressing the “5 C’s of Positive Youth Development – competence, confidence, connection, character and caring – we are helping teens to set goals for their futures and delay sexual involvement. 

The sound bytes Kromenaker uses, i.e., “we need to work together", do sound good, but I challenge her to add substance to her plan to reduce abortion.  Let’s work together to honestly evaluate what has been helpful in reducing abortion. Let’s be sure women and men know there is help for them when they are facing an unplanned pregnancy. Let’s continue to educate the public on sound policies that are proven to reduce abortion.  For our youth, let’s involve them in proven programs that delay sexual debut.  As a country, let’s focus on the need to strengthen families and promote the authentic role of fathers in their children’s lives so women feel supported in parenting. There is so much we should be doing to genuinely help these young people. The answer to this issue isn’t a pill or a procedure. If we truly care for these young people we need to do exactly that – CARE FOR THEM!

Pauline Economon, RN, MSN, MA is the executive director of FirstChoice Clinic (Fargo and Devils Lake), a pregnancy help clinic.

There are 4 levels of the President’s Volunteer Service Awards that are given to Americans who, by their demonstrated commitment and example, inspire others to engage in volunteer service. The Lifetime Award, the highest award given, is given to those who have donated over 4,000 hours of service in a lifetime.

Admiral Garcia presiding over the ceremony stated that “events like this symbolize the best our nation can give – to help people, to give life to the world, offering help as volunteers giving life to the work. The work in pregnancy help centers is helping the least able to help themselves.” Garcia continued to state that “these volunteers are the Hero’s of our nation – this is a day for honoring individuals who make the difference.” Day in and day out, volunteers like Mr. Economon open the doors to centers like FirstChoice Clinic, with welcoming arms to people struggling with a serious life decision – these volunteers are the heart and soul of the work that pregnancy resource centers do.

The Forum, Fargo, ND - Monday, April 21st

Your Opinion: Columnist’s Misinformation Typical in Abstinence Debate

After reading Jane Ahlin’s column (April 13 Sunday Forum) regarding abstinence versus comprehensive sex education, I found myself asking the question I ask myself every time I read similar pieces, “Why is the public continually misinformed when it comes to abstinence education?”

Abstinence education is not an ideology-based pet project of President George W. Bush. Abstinence education was put in place by President Bill Clinton under the Welfare Reform Act.

There’s nothing ideological about abstinence education – it’s a fact-based, medically accurate means of teaching students about sex and relationships. Most abstinence education programs teach students character building, media awareness, goal-setting techniques, medically accurate information on sexually transmitted diseases and condom effectiveness – as well as the facts about unplanned pregnancy and the way it changes a teen’s life, alcohol and drug awareness, how to build healthy relationships and marriage skills.

There are going to be abstinence education programs out there that are not effective, just as there are comprehensive programs that are ineffective. However, until adults stop saying things like, “They’re teenagers, they’re going to do it anyway,” and then handing them a condom, our country will not stop seeing the rise in STDs and unplanned pregnancies in teens.

Evaluation of both abstinence education and comprehensive sex education has shown mixed results. There are a dozen studies that show abstinence education to be more effective than comprehensive. For example, just days after the governor of Virginia declined Title V funds for abstinence education, a new study came out in the January/February 2008 American Journal of Health Behavior showing abstinence programs implemented by the Virginia State Health Department to be effective.

With the rate of condom usage at the highest we’ve ever seen (63 percent), one would expect that STDs and unplanned pregnancies would be at the lowest rates. This is not the case – STDs are at an all-time high, which many medical professionals are calling an epidemic, and for the first time in more than a decade the teen pregnancy rate is up 3 percent. Since there are many more American students receiving comprehensive sex education over abstinence education, why do we keep throwing billions of dollars behind these programs that give our kids permission to have sex, increasing their risk for disease and pregnancy exponentially?

Until adults understand that delaying the onset of sexual activity for teens (e.g. abstinence education) is the healthiest and safest message to teach students about sex – and all the things that come with it – we will continue in this battle. The most interesting thing is that when parents understand exactly what abstinence education includes (and conversely, what comprehensive sex education includes), their support for it jumps from

40 percent to 60 percent, while their support for comprehensive sex education drops from

Recently a North Dakota female middle school teenager wrote this about the Make a Sound Choice positive youth development program: “I was in a relationship where sex was almost a must for the guy and I did it just to make him happy.  My decision changed my life forever and I became pregnant.  Now, I am choosing to say no to this stuff to make myself more emotionally happy.  Your information helped a lot.” 

Our federally funded Make a Sound Choice program located here in Fargo provides North Dakota teens like the one quoted above with a clear and consistent message regarding the benefits of delaying sexual activity. Our program teaches teens the principles of self-restraint, goal setting and long-term commitment - in short, it provides students with the skills required to establish healthy relationships and strong marriages.  

This Make a Sound Choice program is presently in 38 North Dakota schools and growing.   The program is evaluated by a team of independent evaluators from NDSU.  Preliminary evaluation results indicate that we are reaching the high benchmarks we have set for the program.  The results have shown substantial changes in student attitudes and knowledge in areas targeted by the program – the hope of long term reduction in adolescent sexual activity is not just a dream anymore.    Any program that can show a 75% positive impact is doing much good– yet the Make a Sound Choice program is reaching an impact of over 90%!

Information can and does change behavior.  Look at successful educational programs on smoking cessation.  The key in affecting a healthy behavior change is to partner information provided with why it matters and how it can ultimately affect the individual.  That is what abstinence education programs in a positive youth development model provide.  

Our organization remains confident that sharing this sort of messaging with students - about goal setting, self-control, healthy relationships and character building – is overwhelmingly the best health message to give them.  Our confidence is backed by solid evaluation and anecdotal information that we receive from adults and students alike.

FirstChoice Clinic would like to take this opportunity to thank Dakota Medical Foundation (DMF) for their wonderful, unprecedented charitable event, Giving Hearts Day; they recently hosted this past Valentines Day. By partnering with people in our region, DMF helped raise over $300,000 for area nonprofits with health related missions. 

As one of the non-profits who directly benefited from this event, we at FirstChoice Clinic applaud the leadership and the staff at Dakota Medical Foundation for continuing to provide visionary leadership to area nonprofits and by helping them build financial sustainability. Their efforts help establish stronger nonprofits and help us all ensure that we are able to deliver on our missions to serve health related needs in our region. 

This region is indeed blessed by the innovative trainings and financial assistance provided by DMF to nonprofits who serve those in need in our regions. Their generosity allows area agencies to help ensure healthy outcomes for children and families. 

Jane Ahlin shared some valuable information regarding typical human brain development in her May 6 Forum column, “What should we do when teenagers do stupid stuff ?” Parents, teachers or anyone else who work closely with youth are probably not surprised to hear that the brain circuitry of adolescents and young adults is immature. Auto insurance companies know that teenagers can be impulsive and are prone to risk-taking ?? this is reflected in the premiums that we pay to insure young drivers. Science has provided verification of what we knew, but couldn’t necessarily prove.

Ahlin quotes from a Jan. 12 edition of “The Chronicle of Higher Education,” where a senior writer likened the teenage brain to “a turbocharged car with a set of brakes still under construction.” This turbocharged car -- this

talented, energetic young adult racing through life -- needs mature, caring adults around who are willing to give clear guidance on critical issues. This has implications for much of the risk-taking behavior that we see young people engaging in, not the least of which is sexual activity.

Half of all newly diagnosed STDs in our country occur in 15- to 24-year-olds. Yes, teenage pregnancy and birth rates have decreased in the past decade, but they are still high and there is a lot of work left to be done. Teen childbearing in the state of North Dakota is estimated to cost taxpayers at least $13 million in federal, state, and local taxes. These trends have developed in the past few decades, amidst unprecedented access to contraceptives and billions spent on condom education for adolescents.

Public health messages regarding use of tobacco, alcohol, drugs and seat belts

give clear guidance to what the healthiest, safest choices are. Abstinence education programs focus on directing adolescents toward the healthiest choice for them ?? avoidance of all sexual activity outside of marriage. These programs guide students in decision-making, goal setting, positive character development and avoidance of all risk behaviors.

“Safe sex” or “safer sex” messages apply increasing levels of stress to the brakes of that “turbocharged car.” Abstinence education programs, on the other hand, allow the brains of our youth to mature without exposing their bodies and minds to the many potential negative consequences of early sexual debut, tempering that turbocharger and helping those brakes to develop. These kids are the winners.

Kay Kiefer, RN, is the director of Make a Sound Choice, a relationship education program.

I am responding to The Associated Press’s article “Study: Abstinence Classes Don’t Stop Sex” (The Forum, Saturday, April 14). The article did not represent the study accurately – in fact it misrepresented the study titled “Impacts of Four Title V, Section 510 Abstinence Education Programs.”

In reading the study, its final report makes several recommendations for enhancing abstinence education programs – the report did, in no way, recommend defunding abstinence education programs as The Forum’s article implied. Far from it! In fact, the results of the study point to more abstinence education beyond the middle school age group; it recommends that the message needs to be taught consistently throughout high school to expect positive behavior changes. The report recognizes that abstinence programs are well conceived and that youth need support from many different sources to help them make the better decision to postpone sexual activity. They state that a one-time intervention in middle schools will not be adequate to help young people commit to postponing sexual activity.

Since the ’80s, our nation’s schools have been conducting an unchecked experiment called “comprehensive sex education.” What have been the results? Increased STDs, pregnancy and abortion rates. It is obviously not the answer.

In 1996, President Clinton, under the Welfare Reform Act, made nominal funding available for a handful of abstinence education programs – the above study looked at four of these early programs. Over the past 10 years, there has been growth in the number and quality of abstinence education programs. At present, more than 500 are federally funded – although the funding is still nominal, e.g., the per student rate of funding is $1 compared to $9 for comprehensive sex education programs. Despite being pitifully underfunded, many studies about current comprehensive community-based abstinence education programs are having a positive impact. With the increased abstinence education dosage for youth, there is a correlation with a decline in the current teen pregnancy rates.

Programs by themselves can’t do it all. It takes a community effort to deliver positive, healthy messages to our youth, messages that help them build character – positive messages from parents, mentors, youth groups, faith-based communities, schools, advertising, and yes, even in movies and music. With all the competing negative messages, it is like youth are trying to listen to a whisper while a hard rock band is playing in the background.

Abstinence until marriage is a positive message; our youth recognize that. For the first time in more than 10 years, the majority of teens are stating they are committed to an abstinence-until-marriage lifestyle.

We owe it to our youth to look at studies critically and learn what the best practices are to help them. Please, the next time a study of this type comes out – don’t focus on the sound bites. Let’s work together to help our youth and learn the best practices for teaching healthy life skills for our youth.

Pauline Economon is executive director of Fargo’s FirstChoice Clinic. She is an RN; holds master of nursing science and master of arts degrees; and is a fertility care practitioner.

E-mail Pauline@makeasoundchoice.com

• Creates an environment that supports the benefits of postponing sexual activity until marriage
• Builds a better understanding of the emotional, psychological and health risks involved in risk behaviors.
• Encourages the youths who have made negative choices in the past to “start over” with healthy choices.
• Teaches students healthy relationship skills and self-control—a key component in enhanced self esteem.

1. The family background and childhood dynamics. “You Can’t Marry Jethro Without Getting the Clampetts” is one of the session titles, and highlights how the family backgrounds will affect a relationship.
2. The attitudes and action of the conscience, and level of maturity.
3. The scope of your compatibility potential.
4. The examples of other relationship patterns.
5. The strength of relationship skills.