Over ninety percent of parents want teens to abstain from sexual activity until they have at least finished high school. Teens who abstain from sexual activity have substantially improved life outcomes. For example, teens who are abstinent in high school are almost twice as likely to attend and graduate from college when compared sexually active teens from identical social backgrounds.
Young people today are awash in a popular culture promoting promiscuity and casual sex. Abstinence education programs are one of the few alternative voices. Abstinence education programs are effective in reducing sexual activity against enormous pop culture pressures.
Alternative comprehensive sex education programs disparage abstinence and teach that casual sex among teenagers is acceptable and desirable.
Abstract: The principles of sexual health education are not based on the hard sciences. Sex education is animated by a specific vision of how society must change, and because of this, sex ed curricula omit critical biological truths and endorse high-risk behaviors. The priority… Read more
Teen sexual activity remains a widespread problem confronting the nation. Each year, some 2.6 million teenagers become sexually active--a rate of 7,000 teens per day. Among high school students, nearly half report having engaged in sexual activity, and one-third are currently active. Sexual activity during teenage years… Read more
Abstract: Teen sexual activity is costly, not just for teens, but also for society. Teens who engage in sexual activity risk a host of negative outcomes including STD infection, emotional and psychological harm, and out-of-wedlock childbearing. Genuine abstinence education is therefore crucial to the physical and psycho-emotional well-being of the… Read more
A group that thinks a Super Bowl ad celebrating Tim Tebow's life is bad news for women might be a little out of touch with what women really want. That helps explain why the National Organization for Women and other feminist groups have vehemently opposed abstinence… Read more
As Congress wraps up its final business for the year, there are at least a dozen detrimental policies included in the omnibus spending bill recently signed into law by the President. Taken as a whole, these policies devalue human life, weaken civil society, and undermine the family. Unfortunately,… Read more
The President's budget for Fiscal Year 2010 would eliminate abstinence education funding. The Obama Administration has instead requested the creation of yet another comprehensive sex education program, the "Teen Pregnancy Prevention" program. The House of Representatives has included this request in their annual appropriations bill that is now moving… Read more
Jennifer Marshall discussing abstinence education funding. … Read more
Teen sexual activity remains a widespread problem confronting the nation. Each year, some 2.6 million teenagers become sexually active-a rate of 7,000 teens per day. Among high school students, nearly half report having engaged in sexual activity, and one-third are currently active. Sexual activity during teenage years poses serious health risks for youths and has long-term… Read more
Christine Kim talks about the top ten facts on teen sex.… Read more
"It's difficult to really be abstinent until marriage because it's a lot of different things pulling at you when you're a teenager." No, that's not Jamie Lynn Spears talking. That's 16-year-old Kristen Brown, speaking earlier this month to a CBS News reporter in search of a typical teen. Yes, the cultural minefield of abstinence education is… Read more
Teenage sexual activity is an issue of widespread national concern. Although teen sexual activity has declined in recent years, the overall rate is still high. In 1997, approximately 48 percent of American teenagers of high-school age were or had been sexually active. The problems associated with teen sexual activity are well-known. Every day, 8,000 teenagers in… Read more
Early this year, Congress will work to renew welfare reform by reauthorizing the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. As part of this process, Congress will also seek to reauthorize the Title V abstinence education program that was created, along with TANF, in the original 1996 welfare reform act, the Personal… Read more
Sexual activity in the teen years is linked to a number of important social concerns, including sexually-transmitted diseases, teenage pregnancy, out-of-wedlock childbirth, and depression. Two basic approaches to these problems have emerged: The “safe sex” approach, which encourages teens to use contraception, and… Read more
WASHINGTON, JAN. 14, 2004 - Despite overwhelming evidence of the dangers of early sexual activity, the federal and state governments spend much more to promote "safe sex" than they do to encourage abstinence, according to a new study from The Heritage Foundation. Combined, government spends 12 times more promoting family planning and contraception than… Read more
Early this year, Congress will work to renew welfare reform by reauthorizing the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. As part of this process, Congress will also seek to reauthorize the Title V abstinence education program that was created, along with TANF, in the original 1996 welfare reform act, the Personal Responsibility and Work… Read more
WASHINGTON, JUNE 15, 2005-For critics of federally funded abstinence education, it was a dream come true: an article in a scientific journal claiming that teenagers who took virginity pledges were just as likely as non-pledgers to have a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and… Read more
Adolescents who take a virginity pledge have substantially lower levels of sexual activity and better life outcomes when compared with similar adolescents who do not make such a pledge, according to recently released data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health survey). Specifically, adolescents who make a virginity pledge: … Read more
WASHINGTON, SEPT. 21, 2004 - Teens who pledge to abstain from sexual activity until marriage have better life outcomes and are far less likely to engage in risky behaviors than non-pledgers, according to a new study from The Heritage Foundation. Domestic policy… Read more
Young women who take a virginity pledge are about 40 percent less likely to have a child out of wedlock when compared to similar young women who do not make such a pledge, according to recently released data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. These dramatic findings are sustained when… Read more
Statistics released today about American teens’ sexual behavior belie the popular portrayal of American youth as...… Read more
Recently, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the winners of $110 million worth of grant money...… Read more
A recent national study shows that the majority of U.S. parents and their teens support sexual abstinence before...… Read more
All across America, on web sites and among social networking groups, sports fans are playing in fantasy baseball...… Read more
Abstinence education is back in the headlines, prompted by a new study that shows such intervention can reduce teen...… Read more
Yesterday, a new study was released showing that abstinence education programs were effective in reducing teen sexual...… Read more
A new study concludes that abstinence-only education had a significant and long-term effect in reducing teen sexual...… Read more
As Congress wraps up its final business for the year, there are at least a dozen detrimental policies included in the...… Read more
Deep within the current debate over health care reform, the longstanding controversy between comprehensive sex education...… Read more
During the debate on the Senate health care reform bill this week, Senator Hatch (R-UT) offered an amendment to...… Read more
Policy Analyst
Senior Research Fellow