Surprise, Surprise, Abstinence Programs DON’T work!

My high school health class was about the closest education I ever received on sexual health. No matter how mature of students we were supposed to be, when a large penis or vagina is projected onto the chalkboard, awkward laughter is bound to ensue. But, our class never really received technical abstinence training…and I guess that was better in the long run.

The NY Times recently reported that “students who participated in sexual abstinence programs were just as likely to have sex as those who did not, according to a study ordered by Congress.”

Hm interesting, I think we all could have told Congress that a long time ago.

Not only were those who attended one of the four abstinence classes studied just as likely to have sex, but they also reported having similar numbers of sexual partners as those who did not attend these classes. The average age of first sexual experience was the same as well: 14.9 years.

This abstinence push was not a cheap one either– The Times also reported that the federal government spends about $176 million a year promoting abstinence until college and critics have repeatedly said they didn’t believe the programs worked.

Well, i guess the truth has come out, but at quite a cost. $176 million a year for something that has basically no results? If only we could put that money towards a program that might actually make our lives better…like reducing global warming. Because I know trapsing through a blizzard this morning to go to class was not my idea of fun on a mid-April day.