That Virgin Pledge

Posted on May 11, 2008

Almost everyone agrees that high-schoolers should try to refrain from having sex until they’re older and in a committed relationship. But the welfare of children is not served by a misguided social policy that keeps them in ignorance. Mathematica Policy Research Group, funded by the Dept. of Health and Human Services, found that “abstinence-only programs had no effect on the sexual abstinence of youth.” Another recent study found that young people who took the so-called ‘virginity pledge’ were one-third less likely to use contraception when they did become sexually active than their peers who had not pledged. The study also showed that pledgers were not only less likely to use condoms to prevent STDs, they were less likely to seek medical testing and treatment, thereby increasing the possibility of transmission.

The Washington Independent reports: “Marcella Howell, a vice-president for Advocates for Youth, a nonprofit organization devoted to sex education, said abstinence education was an early priority of Bush’s social agenda. ‘He kept saying during the 2000 presidential campaign he was going to triple abstinence funding,’ Howell said. ‘It was a component of his faith-based initiatives…’ She added that ‘for the funding to end, the debate must shift away from conservative ideology and toward accurate information.’”

Accurate information! What a concept!

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