Why Has Abstinence Gotten Such a Bad Rap?

Abstinence has indeed gotten a bad rap over the years. Why? The reasons are numerous and some, I might add, are insidious.

1. Benefactors of abortion have undermined abstinence and its effectiveness. In their desire for more money from teen abortions, institutions such as Planned Parenthood have argued and attempted to prove that abstinence is worse than ineffective, they have insinuated that it is dangerous:

   Quote from Planned Parenthood's web site: "Abstinence-only education is one of the religious right's greatest victories. But it is only one tactic in a broader, longer-term strategy. Since the early 1980s, the "family values" movement has won the collaboration of governments and public institutions, from Congress to local school boards, in abridging students' constitutional rights. Schools now block student access to sexual health information in class, at the school library, and through the public library's Internet portals. They violate students' free speech rights by censoring student publications of articles referring to sexuality. Abstinence-only programs force-feed students religious ideology that condemns homosexuality, masturbation, abortion, and contraception. In doing so, they endanger students' sexual health."

2. Those who oppose the God-ordained institution of marriage - one man joined to one woman for life - and believe that homosexuality is a "healthy" expression of sexual intimacy have opposed abstinence-only programs:

   Quote from SIECUS's web site: "While recognizing that religious groups have diverging views on how sexuality is expressed, professional guidance can assist religious leaders in how best to minister to their constituents regarding their sexual needs. It is important for religious institutions to minister and allow full religious participation to individuals who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual."

   They have also stated the following on their site: "To date, six studies of abstinence-only programs have been published. None of these studies found consistent and significant program effects on delaying the onset of intercourse, and at least one study provided strong evidence that the program did not delay the onset of intercourse. Thus, the weight of evidence indicates that these abstinence-only programs do not delay the onset of intercourse." [http://www.siecus.org/pubs/fact/fact0001.html]
   

3. Others who oppose abstinence-only education do so in an effort to further an agenda based on the removal of consequences for actions. For example, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago is lobbying to "increase federal funding for the development of HIV-prevention substances that could be used in addition, or as an alternative to, condoms," and "policies that grant individuals access to sterile syringes as a strategy to reduce HIV transmission among injection drug users, their partners and children."

   While we are sympathetic to those suffering from AIDS and HIV, facts have shown that AIDS and HIV are spread through the use of contaminated syringes used in illegal IV drug use and through homosexual and promiscuous heterosexual activities. AFC would have us believe that AIDS is an indiscriminant epidemic that our government should spend billions to treat and prevent even while attempts are made to further the homosexual agenda in this country. "... an AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) survey opposes increased funding for "abstinence-only" sex education..."

4. Others, like the ACLU believes abortion on demand is beneficial to the populace. Their web site states: "... the American Civil Liberties Union today said that abstinence-only sexuality education dangerously limits students' access to information about human sexuality and results in widespread government-sponsored censorship. "Abstinence-only sexuality education programs deny students much-needed information about contraception, safer sex practices, abortion and sexuality," said Catherine Weiss, Director of the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project."

   The ACLU supports abortion on demand and homosexual marriage, and opposes abstinence-only education and public display of the Ten Commandments based on a false interpretation of the intent behind "the separation of church and state."

5. The liberal media of the U.S. in conjunction with the above referenced organizations have convinced many Americans that young people are unable to abstain until marriage because of the powerful sexual feelings associated with adolescence, and why should they anyway, since sex is a natural human behavior...

6. In all honesty, abstinence pledges are only as good as those who make them and the support system(s) they have (such as parental involvement, positive peer support, encouragement from youth leaders, etc.).

The fact is that abstinence is the only 100% effective preventative measure against sexually transmitted diseases, teen pregnancy, and all the other consequences of sex outside of marriage. While opponents of abstinence-only education will rave about "safe sex" through use of condoms and detailed, explicit sex education, the only truly effective safeguard against the perils of teen and extramarital sex is abstinence.