Kerby Anderson
Is abstinence education a failure? One would certainly think so looking at some of the statistics being printed in various newspapers. But anyone willing to dig deeper will find that these statistics are sometimes misleading.

First, let’s look at the overall trend. During the 1970s and 1980s, comprehensive sex education was being introduced into the schools. The proponents talked about condoms and so-called “safe sex.” What happened during this period? Teen sexual activity rates rose, and pregnancy and abortion rates reached all time highs.

By the 1990s, abstinence groups began to present a different message. The Centers for Disease Control found that sexual activity rates of high school students declined. And teen abortion rates dropped over 50 percent since 1990.

Of course it is possible to argue that this overall correlation may not be connected. So let’s look more closely at some of the numbers used to argue that abstinence education does not work.

Opponents of abstinence education nearly always refer to teen birth rates rather than teen pregnancy rates. What is missing in these comparisons are teen abortions which mask the real impact of abstinence education.

Let’s compare two states of similar size: Texas and New York. The state of Texas has many more teen births than the state of New York. Opponents of abstinence education use this to show that the state that does not emphasize abstinence education (New York) is doing better than the state that does (Texas). But there is something missing from these comparisons: teen abortions. In New York, 56 percent of pregnant teens abort their babies while only 16 percent of Texas teens do so.

When you compare teen pregnancy rates rather than teen birth rates, you get a much more accurate picture. What you discover is that abstinence education is working.