Abstinence Education Has Failed!

"Abstinence Education has Failed!"

This is what the mainstream media and opponents of abstinence-centered education would like you to believe in the wake of the most recent study. Headlines around the country read:

• "Abstinence classes have little effect, study finds" – Seattle Times, 4/14
• "Abstinence programs fall short, study says" – Minneapolis Star Tribune, 4/14
• "Study: Sex abstinence classes failed" – Philadelphia Inquirer, 4/14
• "Study: Abstinence Classes Don't Stop Sex" – ABC News, 4/14
• "Study Casts Doubt on Abstinence-Only Programs" – Washington Post, 4/14

William Smith, vice president for public policy at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), a leading proponent of “safe-sex” education, said “This report should serve as the final verdict on the failure of the abstinence-only industry in this country, It shows, once again, that these programs fail miserably in actually helping young people behave more responsibly when it comes to their sexuality.”

The report, which was recently released by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. appears, on the surface, to live up to the headlines. The study sought to determine the impact of abstinence education programs. Key findings include:

•Youth in the program group (abstinence classes) were no more likely than control group youth to have abstained from sex and, among those who reported having had sex; they had similar numbers of sexual partners and had initiated sex at the same mean age.