A new study from the University of Pennsylvania that includes middle-schools students shows that that an abstinence-only class aimed at just over 600 African-American middle school students showed encouraging results. Only about a third of the students who participated in the weekend class started having sex within the next two years in comparison with over 40 percent of the students who took a “comprehensive sex-education class.”
The class included a few “follow-up” components that focused on the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases like HIV and offered ways to push back against peer pressure. The study was published in the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine does not support delaying sex until marriage and makes no arguments condoms or other birth control devices.
The Obama Administration is now poised to eliminate federal funding for abstinence-only programs and will instead support a pregnancy-prevention initiative that the article says is supported by scientific research.
The New York Times includes some good sourcing and some interesting observations from policy advocates. But the paper’s ideological leanings also find their way into the article by way of a few qualifying remarks.
“Recognizing the political sensitivity of the research, and how unexpected are its results, the journal ran an accompanying editorial cautioning that public policy should not be based on the results of a single study and that policy makers should not “selectively use scientific literature to formulate a policy that meets preconceived ideologies,” The Times declares.
But why are the results unexpected? There are been other studies that suggest young people can be persuaded to avoid unhealthy lifestyle choices through education programs and strong family structures.
Remarkably, even the proponents of “comprehensive sex education” were impressed with the findings.
“This new study is game-changing,” said Sarah Brown of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, in a statement. “For the first time, there is strong evidence that an abstinence-only intervention can help very young teens delay sex and reduce their recent sexual activity as well. Importantly, the study also shows that this particular abstinence-only program did not reduce condom use among the young teens who did have sex.”
It’s very debatable to suggest that this evidence is becoming apparent for the first time. But this article does open up some doors and like every media outlet The Times is entitled to its editorial views on the subject. But there’s long list of Christian organizations that have long advocated abstinence and might be helpful to pursue additional reports on their initiatives. This does not mean suddenly opening the paper up to legions of religious activists who have definite views on the subject. It just means giving them a seat the table, since its apparent that their policy prescriptions could be helpful to “at-risk” populations.
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