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Your Future: Abstinence and Education

What You Should Know

Sometimes the media can give the impression that being young is all about not being responsible. Much of this portrayal revolves around a loaded, three-letter word; sex. A new awareness about this word is growing though. Despite what may be the typical image of today’s youth, a growing number of young adults are just saying no to sex.  Studies done by the Center for Disease Control reflect a growing trend that today’s young people are more concerned about the ramifications of sexual promiscuity. With more than 700 abstinence education programs in schools throughout the United States and strong support from the local, state, and federal governments, greater and greater numbers of people are speaking out in favor of abstinence until marriage.

The Myths and the Truths:

The myth: The rate of teen pregnancy has decreased since sex education became widely available.
The truth: Sex education became widely available in the 1960’s and the number of premarital pregnancies and abortions has skyrocketed since then. It is only with the widespread introduction of abstinence education in the 1990’s that the rates declined.(1)

The myth: STDs are not common in young people.
The truth: One in five Americans currently have an STD; 63 percent of all STDs occur in people younger than 25 years of age.(2) Teens contract 3.8 million STDs each year.(3)

The myth: Sex is no big deal and everyone is doing it.
The truth: Of teens in ninth through twelfth grades, 54.4 percent are virgins.(4) And a majority of those who have had sex wish that they had not.(5)

The myth: Condoms prevent HIV/AIDS and STDs.
The truth: Condoms fail to prevent exposure to HIV/AIDS-a disease that is still 100 percent fatal—-nearly 16 percent of the time. There is no scientific evidence that condoms prevent transmission of chlamydia, trichomoniasis, herpes, syphilis, chanchroid or human papilloma virus (HPV).(6)

The myth: Abstinence-until-marriage programs only teach abstinence.
The truth: Abstinence education programs teach “building self-esteem, developing values/character traits, formulating goals, making decisions, avoiding risky behavior, maximizing communication, strengthening
relationships, understanding development and anatomy, preventing STDs, withstanding social and peer
pressure, addressing consequences/self-control, resolving sexual conflicts, learning etiquette and manners, aspiring to marriage, and understanding parenthood.”(8)

The myth: Young people do not want to learn about abstinence.
The truth: 93 percent of teens believe that they should be given a strong message about abstinence.(9)

Whether an individual is motivated by health concerns, religious beliefs, or a personal desire to wait for
the right relationship, abstinence is the only 100 percent guarantee against an unplanned pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease.

1. A. Sellers, “The sexual abstinence message causes positive changes in adolescent behavior;
   A circumstantial review of relevant statistics,” Westmont College, CA. 2001.
    
2. “Scientific evidence on condom effectiveness for STD prevention,” National Institute of Heath. 2001.
    
3. “The Surgeon General’s call to action to promote sexual health and responsible sexual behavior,” Office of the Surgeon General, Washington, D.C. 2001.
    
4. “2001 Youth risk behavior surveillance,” Centers for Disease Control, Georgia, 2002.
    
5. “Not just another thing to do; Teens talk about sex, virginity, and the influence of their parents,” National campaign to prevent teen pregnancy, D.C. 2000.
    
6. “Scientific evidence on condom effectiveness for STD prevention,” National Institutes of Health. 2001.
   “2002 Federal sex-ed/contraception vs. abstinence funding fact sheet,” Republican study committee, 2002.
    
7. Maynard, R., et al, “The evaluation of abstinence education programs funded under title V, section 510: Interim report,” HHS, 2002.
    
8. “The cautious generation? Teens tell us about sex, virginity and ‘The Talk,’” NCTPTP, Washington, D.C. 2000.

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