February 4, 2010
Here's a headline: abstinence programs might work! After years of criticism by the big media and groups interested in promoting pre-marital sex, a new study from the University of Pennsylvania has found that sex education classes which focus on encouraging children to abstain from sex before marriage can persuade a significant proportion to delay sexual activity.
Did you get that?
The study says a "significant proportion."
Researchers found that only about a third of sixth and seventh graders who completed a program that focused on abstinence started having sex within two years. Nearly half of the students who attended other classes, including those that combined abstinence messages with contraceptives, became sexually active.
Don't look for the sex industry to accept these findings. There's too much money and political power. But those of us who believe children can be helped with an abstinence message now have now proof we were right.
Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.
