Saturday, April 14, 2007

Abstinence education doesn't work

Well, it should have surprised no one. But now the research is in. Here's part of an AP article called "Abstinence students still having sex":

WASHINGTON - Students who participated in sexual abstinence programs were just as likely to have sex a few years later as those who did not, according to a long-awaited study mandated by Congress.

Also, those who attended one of the four abstinence classes reviewed reported having similar numbers of sexual partners as those who did not attend the classes, and they first had sex at about the same age as their control group counterparts — 14.9 years, according to Mathematica Policy Research Inc.

The federal government now spends about $176 million annually on abstinence-until-marriage education. Critics have repeatedly said they don’t believe the programs are working, and the study will give them reinforcement.

Teach young people the biological facts and then teach them how to protect themselves. Let parents and churches teach the morality part.

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