Dear Mr. Trump, Abstinence-Only Education Does Not Work!!!

Abstinence-only education — encouraging adolescents to wait until marriage for sex — is making a comeback under President Trump.

In a marked departure from the previous administration, conservatives at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are putting an emphasis on abstinence to reduce teen pregnancy rates. The problem with this is that it does not work!

Education is a right. Knowledge is power and informing youth about the consequences of sex reduces their risk of potentially negative outcomes, such as unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.

1. Abstinence-only education programs are not effective at delaying the initiation of sexual activity or in reducing teen pregnancy. A federally-funded evaluation of four carefully selected abstinence-only education programs, published in April 2007, showed that youth enrolled in the programs were no more likely than those not in the programs to delay sexual initiation, to have fewer sexual partners, or to abstain entirely from sex.
https://aspe.hhs.gov/report/impacts-four-title-v-section-510-abstinence-education-programs
2. Many claim that abstinence only education is responsible for the decline in teen pregnancy, but it is the opposite. Studies have shown that the decline in US adolescent pregnancy rates have been secondary to increased contraceptive use. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1716232/
3. Many of the curricula commonly used in abstinence-only programs distort information about the effectiveness of contraceptives, misrepresent the risks of abortion, blur religion and science, treat gender stereotypes as scientific fact, and contain basic scientific errors, according to a 2004 report by Government Reform Committee staff.
4. Promoting Abstinence only and not educating about condoms is a public health concer: Condoms are a highly effective public health tool in the fight against HIV infection. Since half of all sexually transmitted infections (estimated at 18.9 million annually) occur in people under age 25, downplaying condoms’ effectiveness is both illogical and dangerous.
5. As the population marries later abstinence until marriage becomes increasingly more difficult: Americans are marrying later on average, and some are not marrying at all, but they’re not waiting longer to begin having sex. The average age for initiating sexual activity has remained around 17 or 18 since the early 1990s. The net effect, the report concludes, is a substantial increase in premarital sex.
6. It has been well documented that Abstinence-Only Curricula Treat Stereotypes about Girls and Boys. One curriculum teaches that women need “financial support,” while men need “admiration.” Another instructs: “Women gauge their happiness and judge their success on their relationships. Men’s happiness and success hinge on their accomplishments.” Based on a 2004 investigation.

We must continue to educate and share the truth so that our youth can make informed decisions!