The Patriot Post® · Studies Suggest Abstinence Programs Are Working

By Culture Beat ·
https://patriotpost.us/articles/43320-studies-suggest-abstinence-programs-are-working-2016-06-20

Guess what happens when you treat teenagers as if driven only by their hormones: They act as if driven only by their hormones. The leftist argument in the ‘90s was that teens will just be teens; If they were going to have sex, then it might as well be “safe” sex. According to a study conducted by two economists at the University of Notre Dame, the '90s condom distribution philosophy to sex education led to increased teen pregnancies and increased sexually transmitted diseases. If the policy of dealing condoms like candy was instituted nationwide, the study estimated the teen pregnancy rate would have increased about 10-12%. This is the same policy adopted by Planned Parenthood when it tries to educate Americans about sex — and it also happens to be the nation’s largest provider of abortions.

This study comes at a time when fewer teens are engaging in sex. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of teens who reportedly never had sex has never been lower since the time CDC began measuring it back in 1991. Now, about six in 10 teens say they are abstaining from sex. For Valerie Huber of Ascend (the organization formally known as the National Abstinence Education Association), the numbers prove that abstinence education is working. “The data is clear,” she wrote at the Daily Signal. “It confirms that Sexual Risk Avoidance is realistic and that it resonates with teens. It also tells us that we need to be more intentional with the messages we send to teens — and the importance of giving teens the skills to graduate high school without any of the negative consequences that can surround teen sex. Today, those messages normalize sex, especially for older students. This must change.” Unfortunately, a nanny state that promises Americans they can do whatever they want with the state bearing any consequences runs against the idea that people are responsible for their own decisions.

(Edited.)