Pro-Life Activist Gunned Down in Michigan

[Ben Kenobi]

I'm glad you agree that it should not be taught in public schools.

You misunderstand. I think it needs to be taught by people who believe in it. I think it should be taught in public schools. Having health nurses teach abstinence only is like having nuns teach contraception.

[Asher]

You misunderstand.

You misspoke.

[Arrian]

Well then maybe we can learn things about each other. You see the difference is that I am interested in learning more about sex but I don't think you are interested in learning more about intentional abstinence.

Oh, bull****. You've made up your mind, and I've made up mine. I'll be honest about it.

-Arrian

[chequita guevara]

WRT to abstinence education, it's important that it's taught by people who believe in it, and it helps if the kids are in a family that attends church regularly.

Precisely the group that has the most problems with teen pregnancy, because they are kept ignorant of how to protect themselves.

[rah]

Having been married for over 20 years, I'm an expert at both, and prefer one over the other.

[Ben Kenobi]

Oh, bull****. You've made up your mind, and I've made up mine. I'll be honest about it.

If you mean contracepted sex, then yes I have. Otherwise, feel free to chime in. I'm all ears.

[Asher]

Precisely the group that has the most problems with teen pregnancy, because they are kept ignorant of how to protect themselves.

I've never heard of such blaspehmy. Take a look at the paragon of Christian values: the Palin family. Abstinence works!

[Ben Kenobi]

Precisely the group that has the most problems with teen pregnancy, because they are kept ignorant of how to protect themselves.

One of the most significant factors in teenage pregnancy is whether the family are regular churchgoers. The problem are the folks who pledge in public school who get no support.

[Asher]

One of the most significant factors in teenage pregnancy is whether the family are regular churchgoers. The problem are the folks who pledge in public school who get no support.

Do you seriously believe this?

Bristol.

[Ben Kenobi]

Do you seriously believe this?

Yes.

I've seen it confirmed in several studies.

[chequita guevara]

One of the most significant factors in teenage pregnancy is whether the family are regular churchgoers. The problem are the folks who pledge in public school who get no support.

Precisely the group that has the most problems with teen pregnancy, because they are kept ignorant of how to protect themselves.

[Asher]

Yes.

I've seen it confirmed in several studies.

Cite.

[Asher]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstinence-only_sex_education#Criticism

Criticism
Congressional
Two major studies by the U.S. Congress have increased the volume of criticism surrounding abstinence-only education.
In 2004, U.S. Congressman Henry A. Waxman of California released a report that provides several examples of inaccurate information being included in federally funded abstinence-only sex education programs. This report bolstered the claims of those arguing that abstinence-only programs deprive teenagers of critical information about sexuality.[13] The claimed errors included:
misrepresenting the failure rates of contraceptives
misrepresenting the effectiveness of condoms in preventing HIV transmission, including the citation of a discredited 1993 study by Dr. Susan Weller, when the federal government had acknowledged it was inaccurate in 1997 and larger and more recent studies that did not have the problems of Weller's study were available
false claims that abortion increases the risk of infertility, premature birth for subsequent pregnancies, and ectopic pregnancy
treating stereotypes about gender roles as scientific fact
other scientific errors, e.g. stating that "twenty-four chromosomes from the mother and twenty-four chromosomes from the father join to create this new individual" (the actual number is 23).[13]
Out of the 13 grant-receiving programs examined in the 2004 study, the only two not containing "major errors and distortions" were Sex Can Wait and Managing Pressures before Marriage, each of which was used by five grantees, making them two of the least widely used programs in the study. With the exception of the FACTS program, also used by 5 grantees, the programs found to contain serious errors were more widely used, ranging in usage level from 7 grantees (the Navigator and Why kNOw programs) to 32 grantees (the Choosing the Best Life program). Three of the top five most widely used programs, including the top two, used versions of the same textbook, Choosing the Best, from either 2003 (Choosing the Best Life) or 2001 (Choosing the Best Path — the second most widely used program with 28 grantees — and Choosing the Best Way, the fifth most widely used program with 11 grantees).
In 2007, a study ordered by Congress found that middle school students who took part in abstinence-only sex education programs were just as likely to have sex in their teenage years as those who did not.[14] From 1999 to 2006, the study tracked more than 2,000 students from age 11 or 12 to age 16; the study included students who had participated in one of four abstinence education programs, as well as a control group who had not participated in such a program. By age 16, about half of each group — students in the abstinence-only program as well as students in the control group — were still abstinent. Abstinence program participants who became sexually active during the 7-year study period reported having similar numbers of sexual partners as their peers of the same age; moreover, they had sex for the first time at about the same age as other students. The study also found that students who took part in the abstinence-only programs were just as likely to use contraception when they did have sex as those who did not participate. Abstinence-only education advocates claim the study was too narrow, began when abstinence-only curricula were in their infancy, and ignored other studies that have shown positive effects.[15]

Scientific and medical
Abstinence-only education has been criticized in official statements by the American Psychological Association,[16] the American Medical Association,[17] the National Association of School Psychologists,[18] the Society for Adolescent Medicine,[19] the American College Health Association,[19] the American Academy of Pediatrics,[20] and the American Public Health Association,[21] which all maintain that sex education needs to be comprehensive to be effective.
The AMA "urges schools to implement comprehensive... sexuality education programs that... include an integrated strategy for making condoms available to students and for providing both factual information and skill-building related to reproductive biology, sexual abstinence, sexual responsibility, contraceptives including condoms, alternatives in birth control, and other issues aimed at prevention of pregnancy and sexual transmission of diseases... [and] opposes the sole use of abstinence-only education..."[17]
The American Academy of Pediatrics states that "Abstinence-only programs have not demonstrated successful outcomes with regard to delayed initiation of sexual activity or use of safer sex practices... Programs that encourage abstinence as the best option for adolescents, but offer a discussion of HIV prevention and contraception as the best approach for adolescents who are sexually active, have been shown to delay the initiation of sexual activity and increase the proportion of sexually active adolescents who reported using birth control."[20]
On August 4, 2007, the British Medical Journal published an editorial concluding that there is "no evidence" that abstinence-only sex education programs "reduce risky sexual behaviours, incidence of sexually transmitted infections, or pregnancy" in "high income countries".[22]
A comprehensive review of 115 program evaluations published in November 2007 by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy found that two-thirds of sex education programs focusing on both abstinence and contraception had a positive effect on teen sexual behavior. The same study found no strong evidence that abstinence-only programs delayed the initiation of sex, hastened the return to abstinence, or reduced the number of sexual partners.[23][24] According to the study author:
"Even though there does not exist strong evidence that any particular abstinence program is effective at delaying sex or reducing sexual behavior, one should not conclude that all abstinence programs are ineffective. After all, programs are diverse, fewer than 10 rigorous studies of these programs have been carried out, and studies of two programs have provided modestly encouraging results. In sum, studies of abstinence programs have not produced sufficient evidence to justify their widespread dissemination."
Joycelyn Elders, former Surgeon General of the United States, is a notable critic of abstinence-only sex education. She was among the interviewees Penn & Teller included in their Bull****! episode on the subject.[25]
Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, argues that abstinence-only sex education leads to the opposite of the intended results by spreading ignorance regarding sexually transmitted diseases and the proper use of contraceptives to prevent both infections and pregnancy.[26]
In July 2009, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released their analysis of national data collected between 2002 and 2007. Their findings included:[27]
Birth rates among U.S. teens had increased in 2006 and 2007, following large declines from 1991 to 2005.
About one-third of adolescents had not received instructions on methods of birth control before age 18.
In 2004, there were about 745,000 pregnancies among females younger than 20, including an estimated 16,000 pregnancies among girls between 10 and 14.
In 2006, about one million young people aged 10 to 24 were reported to have chlamydia, gonorrhea, or syphilis. Nearly one-quarter of females aged 15 to 19, and 45 percent of females aged 20 to 24, had a human papillomavirus infection during 2003 and 2004.
In 2006, the majority of new diagnoses of HIV infection among young people occurred among males and those aged 20 to 24.
From 2004 to 2006, about 100,000 females aged 10 to 24 visited a hospital emergency department for nonfatal sexual assault, including 30,000 females aged 10 to 14.
Hispanic teens aged 15 to 19 are much more likely to become pregnant (132.8 births per 1,000 females) than non-Hispanic blacks (128 per 1,000) and non-Hispanic whites (45.2 per 1,000)
Non-Hispanic black youth in all age groups have the highest rates of new HIV and AIDS diagnoses.
“ This report identifies a number of concerns regarding the sexual and reproductive health of our nation's young people... It is disheartening that after years of improvement with respect to teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, we now see signs that progress is stalling and many of these trends are going in the wrong direction ”

— Janet Collins, director of the CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, July 17

[Arrian]

Some quick googling produced this:

http://www.alanguttmacherinstitute.org/pubs/or_teen_preg_decline.html

Admittedly, this is 11 years old. I'm sure there is more recent stuff.

It appears that increased abstinence among women accounted for approximately one-quarter of the drop in the U.S. teenage pregnancy rate between 1988 and 1995.

• Changes in levels of sexual activity among those who were not abstinent probably had little, if any, net effect on the pregnancy rate, because changes in some measures of sexual activity among those who had had intercourse were matched by changes in the opposite direction.

• Trends in the level of contraceptive use were mixed, but a shift in teenage contraceptive use to the newly available long-acting hormonal methods, primarily the injectable contraceptive, was a significant change toward increasing sexually experienced young women's effectiveness in preventing pregnancy.

These findings show that reduction in sexual activity and use of more effective contraceptive methods both played roles in the recent decline in teenage pregnancy rates and birthrates. Both of these behavioral changes were undoubtedly influenced by broader societal changes in policy and programs, and in attitudes and values. We have yet to understand many of these changes and their interconnections.

Even so, these findings suggest that the best strategy for continuing the declines in teenage pregnancy levels is a multifaceted approach. Programs and policies should aim at encouraging teenagers--particularly those at the youngest ages--to postpone intercourse and at supporting sexually experienced youths who wish to refrain from further sexual activity. At the same time, it must be recognized that most young people become sexually active during their teens, and sexuality education and information should also prepare them to adequately prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection if and when they do have sex.

Makes sense to me.

-Arrian

[Ben Kenobi]

I'm looking around for the studies I saw several years ago that remarked on the greater effectivenes of pledges with church attendence. Give me a bit.