Statement by James Wagoner on Heritage Foundation’s Abstinence-Only Study

In a feeble attempt to defend discredited abstinence-only programs, the Heritage Foundation has released yet another bogus ‘study’ of successful abstinence-programs.

Never mind that:

• A similar Heritage ‘study’ of successful programs published in 2002 was discredited by the leading researcher in the sex education field, Doug Kirby, writing for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
• That the ten-year congressionally mandated evaluation of federally-funded abstinence-only programs released last April found “no impact on teen behavior.”
• A study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health showed that teens receiving comprehensive sex education had a substantially lower risk of teenage pregnancy than students who received either abstinence-only education or no sex education at all. (“Abstinence-Only and Comprehensive Sex Education and the Initiation of Sexual Activity and Teen Pregnancy,” JAH, April 2008)
• That all the credible, mainstream public health and medical organizations in the country are on record opposing abstinence-only programs and supporting comprehensive sex education programs that include age-appropriate information about abstinence and contraception. (American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, Institute of Medicine, Society of Adolescent Medicine, American Public Health Association).

I would quote Senator Moynihan to Mr. Rector and his colleagues at the Heritage Foundation: “You are entitled to your own opinion, but not to your own facts.”

The reality is there is a preponderance of evidence showing that abstinence-only-until-marriage programs simply do not work. After spending $1.5 billion on these failed programs over the last ten years, the time has come to move in a new direction. It is time to end the decade of denial by shifting our nation’s sex education policy to a comprehensive approach—one that includes abstinence and contraception. The health and safety of America’s youth demands nothing less.

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Advocates for Youth is a national, nonprofit organization that creates programs and supports policies that help young people make safe, responsible decisions about their sexual and reproductive health.