Do Abstinence Programs Really Work?

            I remember in 5th grade being taught the miracle of life and how we came to be. It was a very short, brief section of classes that confused everyone and was over before it started. In 8th grade we had our first talk about sex and abstinence. I went to a strict Catholic school that only preached abstinence and not the use of contraceptives so you can see how I was surprised to find that in my sophomore year I had to take a course that's main focus was safe sex and the use of contraceptives. I think that a combination of teaching safe sex and abstinence is a good way to teach sex-ed. Teaching abstinence alone, while important, is not enough. A combination of parental support, the necessary knowledge about safe sex and birth control, and access to contraceptives, would effectively help to reduce the number of pregnancies and STD's among teens today. I believe that abstinence programs alone are not effective because they use inaccurate information, they are extremely right wing oriented, they are a waste of money, and because there are other ways to teach teens about sex education that are much more effective. .
             Abstinence education is the choice to abstain from any sexual activity that includes vaginal, oral, and anal sex till marriage. Abstinence is taught to be the only 100% proof way to be safe from STD's and pregnancy. Some of the stated facts about abstinence are that it can be practiced at any time during your life and you'll have the comfort of knowing that you will not have an unwanted pregnancy or STD's. Another aspect that is taught is that there are other ways to build relationships than through just sex. There are also no side effects from choosing to be abstinent. People choose to remain abstinent for many reasons. Some of these reasons might be religious while others might be moral. Another reason is that many people want to wait for someone they trust. An abstinence sex education teaches teens that abstaining from sex until marriage is the best way of making sure they avoid infection with sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancy.