The teen pregnancy rate in the U.S. rose 3 percent in 2006, the first increase in more than a decade. A report from the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute claims abstinence education is to blame because funding for such programs rose to $120 million from 2000 to 2003.
Scott Phelps, executive director of the Abstinence and Marriage Education Partnership, said the assertion makes no sense.
“This slight increase of 3 percent follows a 14-year decline of 34 percent,” he said. “In other words, teen birth rates have dropped substantially in the past 14 years. They have no data to support the claim.”
Dr. Jennifer Shuford, director of applied science at the Medical Institute for Sexual Health, said abstinence has a proven track record.
“The only 100-percent effective means of avoiding pregnancy and avoiding sexually transmitted infections,” she said, “is through avoiding sexual activity until you are in a lifelong, monogamous marriage.”
Source: Citizenlink.com