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Indiana’s sex education must strongly emphasize abstinence until marriage, even though almost half of all high school students in Indiana report already having had sex. Sex ed must also emphasize that heterosexual marriage is the best protection from sexually transmitted infections.
Sex Education Policy
Indiana requires its students receive abstinence-only programs which closely track with the 8-point federal definition of abstinence-only education. See the Indiana statute
Health Outcomes
Indiana has lower rates of AIDS and teen pregnancy than most states. However, STI rates are high, and Indiana’s youth are among the least likely to report having used condoms the last time they had sex.
Sexual Health Stats at a Glance
|
Teen Pregnancy Rate* |
Teen Birth Rate* |
Annual rate of AIDS Diagnoses (per 100,000 people) |
STI Rate+ |
% of high school students who did not use a condom at last sex |
| Indiana |
62 |
42.5 |
6.3 |
101.1 |
42 |
| National |
70 |
39.1 |
11.2 |
100.8 |
39 |
*Per 1000 young women ages 15-19
+Because of concern over recent changes in Chlamydia reporting and relative low incidence of syphilis, we used the state's gonorrhea rate as a stand-in for sexually transmitted infection rates.
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