The Case for Abstinence In Preventing Pregnancy

To the Editor:

Jason Halbert’s article (“How Foundations Can Help Curb Rising Teenage-Pregnancy Rates,” Opinion, April 8) is about half right concerning the increasing rates of teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.

Sadly, the rates are increasing.

However, Mr. Halbert’s elation over the proposed shift in federal funding seems to have skipped over some very important facts. He claims that “after more than 10 years of exclusively financing programs to teach teenagers that “abstinence until marriage” is the only method to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection, Congress has provided $114.5-million for programs that have already been proven effective or that show promise of innovation.”

Even during the heyday of the Bush administration’s abstinence program, comprehensive sex-education programs were running in parallel and were much better funded. The words “exclusive” and “only” are a poor fit for describing the Bush abstinence programs. The Department of Health and Human Services has shown that for every $1 spent on abstinence programs, $4 was spent on comprehensive sex education.

One might surmise that a program that was well funded and “proven effective” would have produced a decline or at least a leveling in teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, but just the opposite is taking place (i.e., the rates are rising).

The advocates for comprehensive sex education are quick to claim that abstinence programs don’t work; but they, as well as the news media, have a tendency to overlook the increasing body of published evidence that shows otherwise. They were shocked in February when results of a new study appeared in a prestigious American Medical Association journal showing that abstinence education works.

Even the most authoritative advocate of teenage sexual education would have to admit that the only program that has been proven 100 percent effective has been one of total abstinence. All other programs have shown varying degrees of success, and many are outright failures.

Given the uncertain outcomes and the heavy societal costs of the existing comprehensive sex-education programs, it would seem foolish to abandon any program that has shown as much promise as has been demonstrated by the abstinence programs.

James E. Budde
Kansas City, Mo.