Abstinence Despite Education

New data from the Centers for Disease Control show that more teens are indeed just saying “no.” “According to 2006-2008 survey results released yesterday by the National Center for Health Statistics, 68% of boys and 67% of girls (age 15-17) have never had sexual intercourse,” the National Abstinence Education Association (NAEA) reported on March 4, 2011. “And overall sexual contact trends are also moving in the right direction  with 53% of boys and 58% of girls  (age 15-17)  reporting that they have never had oral, anal, or vaginal sex with anyone.”

“This is a positive change  from 2002 when only 46% of boys and 49% of girls reported no sexual contact.” Remarkably, these findings come at a time when federal support for education has dried up, at least.

“One hundred sixty-nine abstinence education programs lost funding and over 1 million students lost access to the very programs that can support and encourage the positive trends represented by this data,” according to the NAEA.

Malcolm A. Kline is the Executive Director of Accuracy in Academia.

If you would like to comment on this article, e-mail contact@academia.org