ABSTINENCE EDUCATION

Parents naturally want what is best for their children.  The idea of teaching children to avoid sexual activity during their teenage years is supported by nearly all parents.  According to a recent Zogby international poll, eighty-five percent of the parents interviewed said that the emphasis placed on abstinence for teens should be equal to or greater than the emphasis placed on contraception.  Only eight percent said teaching teens how to use condoms is more important than teaching them to abstain from sex.

Studies show that teens who start having sex at young ages are more likely to become infected with sexually transmitted diseases, while girls who begin sexual activity at an earlier age are far more likely to have abortions.  Early sexual activity is also linked to higher levels of out-of-wedlock birth and higher poverty rates.  In contrast, repeated evaluations show that abstinence education programs substantially reduce teen sexual activity.

Parents are right.  Changing our popular culture is never easy - it is a long-term process - but we can teach our teenagers healthy, responsible attitudes towards sex, and that they will be better off if they wait to engage in sexual activity.  As a father, I understand a parent's desire to want what is best for a child, and I intend to support parent's choices for abstinence education.

2007 Abstinence Education Evaluation Conference