The Abstinence Clearinghouse Blog

I wanted to share this article written by Dr. Ron Ferris, M.D. and Dr. Ruth Taylor.  They write–

“We are startled and deeply concerned with the shallowness of the reporting contained in the recent article titled ‘Effectiveness of abstinence education questioned’ (News Analysis, March 1).  We’d like to shed some important facts that are either missing or misrepresented in the article.

While good parents have been teaching abstinence until marriage for centuries, ‘abstinence education programs’ as we know them today are a very recent development and, as such, authentic studies on the long-term impact are simply unavailable.

The OSV article cites a ‘recent’ study by Janet Rosenbaum of Johns Hopkins, the conclusions of which infer virginity pledges are ineffective.  This is misleading on two levels.  First, the study itself is 10 years old, with Rosenbaum only recently offering new analysis.  Second, while virginity pledges and so-called commitment cards may be included in good abstinence education programs, they are only a footnote to a larger, more important message.

It is curious and disconcerting indeed that Scott Alessi, the reporter of the article, relies heavily upon Doug Kirby, assigning him the status as ‘leading researcher’ of abstinence education programs.  Kirby is well known to have a professional bias against abstinence education programs.  His comments that abstinence education programs need ’skill building’ and ‘personalized to youth’ elements reveal his ignorance.

Abstinence education is primary prevention — a way to teach and show our kids how to make healthy choices and stay out of trouble by avoiding risky behavior.”