Abstinence-based sex education programs have long been debated in the public school system, but statistics are proving that teaching abstinence- only classes is working.
“The educators, parents, community leaders and faith-based individuals who believe in abstinence-only education (abstinence from all types of sexual activity, as well as all risk behaviors) know that it is in the best interest of the students,” said Susan Stewart, director of the Alabama Abstinence-Only Education Program (AAEP). “It is 100 percent safe … and enables adolescents to live healthy productive lives.”
Currently 34 of Alabama’s 67 counties have federally funded AAEP programs in public schools.
The schools implemented these programs with the aid of the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH).
Approximately 200,000 adolescents — up to age 17 — have received abstinence-only education in Alabama. In 2003, statistics revealed that the number of pregnancies in adolescents ages 10–19 were on a steady decline — from 14,838 in 1999 to 11,957 in 2003.
Held during school hours
Students in those schools with abstinence-only programs attend between two and 12 classes during the school year. Classes last 50–90 minutes and are held during normal school hours.
Educators and other individuals, who are carefully selected, teach the classes.
Nationally more than 100 abstinence education programs are funded by the community-based Abstinence Education Grant Program. The ADPH currently receives this funding for its AAEP.
As the largest program funded by the ADPH, S.A.f.E. Inc. (Sex and Family Education), which operates in 31 counties, has reached 14,800 students across the state since its inception, promoting sexual abstinence outside of marriage as the choicest of lifestyles.
Established in 1988 — before funding for grant programs was available — S.A.f.E. relied solely upon the efforts of volunteers and the financial support of the community. Today the organization continues to rely on dedicated volunteers who love the students and see their job as a vital ministry.
“It is our job to point them in the direction of the truth of God’s plan for their purity,“ said Reneé B. Williams, executive director of S.A.f.E. “Our goal is to let every student around the world know that this is a decision they can control.”
Williams emphasized that abstinence is not controversial but is the only “safe sex” — safe for the body and mind because sex is more than a physical act. It is spiritual and emotional as well, she said. Those students who have been sexually active are encouraged to start over and get tested for all sexually transmitted diseases.
Eighty-nine percent of students reached by S.A.f.E. say that the program influenced their decision to wait. One student wrote: “You really put everything into perspective. … About nine months ago, I made the biggest mistake of my life. I have vowed to God and myself that I will never make that mistake again.”
Williams added, “We give them hope in the fact that they can do it.”
The Troy Regional Medical Center and Charles Henderson Child Health Center’s “Abstinence in Motion” (AIM) Project promotes abstinence-only until marriage and targets teens in Pike, Crenshaw, Barbour, Coffee and Bullock counties. The impact of the AIM Project can be seen in health statistics for the counties involved.
From 1999 to 2003, pregnancy rates for 15 to 17 year olds dropped considerably — from 5,074 in 1999 to 3,906 in 2003 — a drop substantially greater than the decrease seen throughout Alabama, according to ADPH.
Opponents of the abstinence-only education programs have campaigned to slash funding, saying the programs do not work — namely the virginity pledge programs. But researchers at The Heritage Foundation, a public policy research organization, found that virginity pledge programs have a strong record of success.
The foundation’s findings show that young adult pledgers, in comparison to nonpledgers, are less likely to engage in any form of sex, have children out of wedlock or become pregnant.
In correlation with the virginity pledge, many teens have indicated their religious faith and strong morals are vital in their decisions to abstain from sex.
The 1995 National Survey of Family Growth showed that 48 percent of 15- to 19-year-old girls abstained from sexual activity because it was against their religion and morals.
A task force of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy compiled “Nine Tips to Help Faith Leaders and Their Communities Address Teen Pregnancy.”
The tips explain the importance of youth being informed and understanding where their faith tradition stands on matters of sexuality. These traditions can impact them and aid in their decisions to avoid premarital sex and pregnancy.
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