Dr. Mary Steichen Calderone,94, a physician who preached that children should be taught sex education beginning in kindergarten, died Saturday at the Kendal at Longwood nursing home in Kennett Square, Pa. She had suffered from Alzheimer's disease for the past decade.

In 1964, Dr. Calderone was a founder of the Sex Information and Education Center of the United States, whose goal was to foster "responsible use of the sexual faculty."

Critics called her a promoter of smut and perversion, and suggested her teaching would encourage young people to become sexually active.

Dr. Calderone and SIECUS said when students were taught about sex, teen pregnancy declined.

Pub Date: 10/26/98