Expert: Rising STDs Among Teens Vindicate Abstinence Message
by Mary Rettig and Jenni Parker
June 15, 2004
(AgapePress) - An expert on abstinence policy with Focus on the Family says that teen sexual activity is down, but there is a troubling increase in sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).Linda Klepacki, abstinence policy manager for Focus on the Family, says the recent findings of the biennial Youth Risks Behavior Surveillance show that abstinence education is making an impact. However the study, which was recently published in Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, also revealed a disturbing trend -- a major increase in STDs among young people.
The decrease in the number of teens engaging in sexual intercourse -- from 54 percent in 1991 to 47 percent in 2003 -- is a sign that abstinence education is making an impact, Klepacki says. She calls it an "exciting development" but notes that it is also a call to greater diligence in promoting abstinence education.
Klepacki cites the study's finding that, among the 18.9 million new cases of sexually transmitted infection occurring annually, 48 percent were among young people age 15 to 24. "We are really alarmed," she says. "These are diseases that can affect them for the rest of their lives.
The pro-family health advocate says abstinence educators need to renew their commitment to teaching youth that the only safe sex is that confined to a monogamous, married relationship. "In fact," she says, "that is what is preferred, not only for our Christian students but even, from a health aspect, for our non-Christian students."
Klepacki says the rise in STDs, particularly among young people, confirms what abstinence advocates have been saying all along about condoms -- that even when used under "perfect conditions," condoms are unreliable at best in preventing pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
Still, the Focus on the Family abstinence expert notes, so-called "comprehensive sex-ed" advocates continue to withhold vital information from America's youth and continue to assure them, falsely, that condoms provide security from the consequences of teenage sexual activity.
