We believe: Candidates, media and voters should focus on the larger issue of how to prevent teenage pregnancy and the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases.

When Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin took to the stage at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, she didn’t say a word about her 17-year-old daughter Bristol, except to introduce the teen to the crowd.

What everyone knew — and no one said — was that Bristol is pregnant. The father is also 17, and the two plan to be married. The media and Democratic detractors had a field day when this impending birth was announced on Monday. Gov. Palin has said that she is in favor of abstinence education and doesn’t support comprehensive (she calls it “explicit”) sex education. Comprehensive sex education programs encourage abstinence, teach condom use and educate about the risks of unprotected sex.

At Anderson Community Schools, abstinence and the reproductive system are taught in freshman health, according to ACS board member Teddy Bohnenkamp. There is no comprehensive sex education course.

Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee for president, did not attack Palin over the announcement, but instead said such family matters should be off-limits in the campaign. He’s right. What Bristol is going through shouldn’t be put under the glare of a political campaign. Let her have her baby and marry her young man in peace.

The public issue for Gov. Palin shouldn’t be what’s happening with her daughter, but what policies should be implemented to curtail teen pregnancy and the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases.

Sex education that includes abstinence and contraception has a role in schools. If parents object that the subject is taught, it could become an elective where parents would have to approve whether their children were in the class. The offering of such classes might save other teens from Bristol’s fate of becoming a mother way too young.

Thirty-four states offer sex education as an elective. Indiana doesn’t. It’s one of 22 states that require schools to provide instruction about HIV and STDs. Indiana’s schools can choose to provide sex education. If they do, state law requires that they stress abstinence.

Some teenagers will have sex and some won’t. It would be good for those who will to understand the consequences of their actions. Opponents of sex education have long contended that teaching about sex will encourage it. In some cases that may happen, but the American Psychological Association reports that comprehensive sexuality education programs for teens reduce “HIV-risk behavior and delay the onset of sexual intercourse.”

The APA reports, further, that there’s little evidence that federally supported abstinence-only programs prevent HIV transmission. Such programs have been found to be effective in delaying sexual activity.

Last fall, Britney Spears’ 17-year-old sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, became pregnant and had her baby this year. (Jamie Lynn sent Bristol Palin a baby gift this week.) The media were merciless in their condemnation of Jamie Lynn and the values imparted to her by her mother, Lynne Spears.

Yet the media are expected to back off this story about Gov. Palin and her daughter. It will likely blow over as the campaign progresses, but voters should remember that this shouldn’t disqualify Gov. Palin from the office of vice president. As she said at her convention speech, her family has all the problems and ups and downs of other families. She has a son, Track, set to depart for Iraq. She has another baby son, Trig, diagnosed with Down syndrome.

Gov. Palin will have to be judged on her merits and fitness for the job, as we all are. The drama that goes on in her home, as in all of our homes, is part of life. Hers just got moved to the national stage.