Abstinence Education Programs: The Only Sex Ed That Actually Works

Melissa G. Pardue

Teenage sexual activity is a major national dilemma that has resulted in several decades of increasing incidence of sexually transmitted diseases, emotional and psychological injuries, and high rates of out-of-wedlock childbearing to America's youth.

A new study released by the "Adolescent and Family Health" journal -- proves that abstinence works. Though, at present, the federal government gives close to six times as much for non-abstinence education as it does for abstinence education.

According to this study, abstinence is the major reason for the decreasing birth and pregnancy rates among single teenage girls. Most striking among these findings was the fact that within unmarried teenage girls aged 15 to 19, abstinence accounted for a 67 percent drop in the pregnancy rate. Similarly, abstinence was attributed to a 51 percent drop in the birthrate for teenage girls aged 15 to 19.

Read the entire article on "The Heritage Foundation" website (link closed).