Abstinence education shown to work

I would like to highlight a groundbreaking study reported earlier this year in the US which brought out the fact that sexual abstinence does work.

The study was reported in the February 2010 Archives of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, published by the American Medical Association. It stated: “Abstinence programmes show kids there are too many great things riding on their future to risk it to STDs, pregnancy and broken hearts. Abstinence is a message our kids want to hear…”

It has been demonstrated that abstinence education is highly effective in reducing sexual activity among youth. It has also been shown contraceptive sex education programmes to be ineffective. If youngsters are bombarded with explicit depictions, even under the guise of “sexual education”, the propensity is that they would try out those behaviours!

According to this study the decrease in promiscuity is noteworthy. Spanning a full two years, students were “followed” after completion of the abstinence class. One-third of students showed a decrease in sexual activity, compared to those who didn’t participate in the class. Condom-promoting programmes didn’t affect youth behaviour at all. Students showed no reduction in sexual activity and no increase in contraceptive use.

“Finally, a study that proves what those of us who have been teaching abstinence have known for years. These programmes help develop self-control and self- esteem, teaching kids they do not need to fall prey to the game of Russian Roulette with condoms,” said Leslee Unruh, president and founder of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse.

One hopes the good endeavours so painstakingly made by parents, volunteer catechists and so many others is not brought to naught by ill-conceived sexual education programmes which increase rather than decrease single motherhoods, “quasi-abortions” sometimes disguised as merely “clean-ups” in taxpayer funded hospitals and other actions inimical to the culture of life.