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Date Added to
Site: 27th October 2003 |
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Short Summary
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| Title |
Abstinence-Only Education (in the USA): Fact
Sheet |
| Author |
Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc. |
| Publication
Date |
June 2001 |
| Publisher |
Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc. |
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Short Summary |
Since the 1980s Christian right-wing fundamentalist
groups in the USA have been lobbying for abstinence-only-before-marriage
education instead of sex education in US schools. Their efforts have
met with some success. Between 1997-2002, approximately US$500 million
in federal and state matching funds was spent on abstinence only education,
and President Bush has recently increased support for such programs.
This is in spite of evidence suggesting that students who receive
abstinence education rather than comprehensive sexuality education
do not abstain for longer, but are more likely to have unsafe sex
when they do become sexually active. The USA has the highest rate
of teen pregnancy in the developed world, and American adolescents
are contracting HIV faster than almost any other demographic group
in the USA. Such trends have been attributed to restrictions on comprehensive
sexuality education, lack of availability of condoms for teenagers,
and widespread attitudes that adolescents should not have sex. |
| Complete Document |
 http://www.plannedparenthood.org/library/facts/AbstinenceOnly10-01.html
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