Girls' Fertility Chartbook Stirs Debate

Expert reactions to the book tend to track political views on comprehensive sex education vs. the abstinence-only approach. Vanessa Cullins, vice president for medical affairs at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, takes the line that better-informed teenagers make better decisions: "Time and again," she says, "research has shown that giving information to adolescents about reproduction and sexuality will not lead to promiscuity and will only arm teens with information that they need whenever they decide to become sexually active."

But Janice Crouse, senior fellow at Concerned Women for America's Beverly LaHaye Institute, disagrees. "I think it is inappropriate. Instead, I think that we need high ideals for our teenagers, to teach them the value of self-control because those are disciplines that you need for your whole life. Providing this type of information says that teenagers are hostages to their hormones."

Carrie Lukas of the Independent Women's Forum, author of "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Women, Sex and Feminism" (Regnery), read "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" when trying to conceive her own children. Like Weschler's many correspondents, she thought, "How did I not know this earlier?"

"Any time you give young people information, there is the potential for them to misapply that knowledge," Lukas says, "but that is not a reason to warn people away from this book."

"I think we need a totally frank and honest discussion about all aspects of fertility, whether making sure young women know the role that menstruation plays in reproductive biology or making sure that 20-somethings know the relationship between age and fertility," Lukas says, noting that many young women are unaware of just how sharply fertility declines with age and how expensive, ineffective and emotionally draining infertility treatment can be. "Cycle Savvy," she believes, could be the perfect opener for this conversation. ·

Maia Szalavitz, a senior fellow of Stats.org, is the co-author of "The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog and Other Stories From a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook" (Basic). Comments:health@washpost.com.