what is your opinion when it comes to abstinence only education?

It's been shown not to work, either at keeping down STDs or preventing pregnancy

Since sex can have unexpected consequences until a person is married and ready for a new arrival it is not a good idea. No birth control is 100% nor does it protect you from STD's. So abstinence only seems right and if the parents want them to know about other things I think they should teach it not some teacher in school.

1) do you think it's a good idea for teachers to teach this to our students?

To be honest, I'm not sure of the details. If by "abstinence only" you mean

"only abstinence can guarantee that you do not get pregnant or contract an STD, and condoms are wrong and often fail, but here is how you use a condom if you're so stupid as to actually refuse to follow abstinence"

Then I'm all for it. If by "abstinence only" you mean

"avoid condoms as if they were STDs in a box, it's better to have unprotected sex than to use a condom"

Then no - I'm against it. My **understanding** (and it may be wrong) is that abstinence-only programs teach that abstinence is the ONLY safe solution. They do not refuse to teach about other forms of protection - they simply refuse to recommend the use of other methods of protection because other methods are not safe.

Am I wrong about this? Do you know of a program that refuses to teach that other methods of protection exist, even though those other methods are haphazard protection (not very safe)?

I think that you do not understand the term "abstinence only education" - but I am willing to admit that I am wrong if you can show me that I am.

Jim, http://www.bible-reviews.com/

P.S. The most effective HIV infection rate reduction program? Behavior modification programs - that is, programs that teach people to either be faithful to one partner or to abstain from sex. The statistics don't lie - check out the info at UNAIDS.

abstinence works every time it is tried. Condoms at best 99.9% by their own packaging claims. Statistically you wont get pregnant. Statistically. Working the abstinence side 100% effective. Well, ok there was the one baby conceived but that was over 2000 years ago and hasn't been duplicated. I know there are guys that say "wasn't me" but it was someone.

Ratz, interesting take. If you don't engage in sexual behavior then you will get HIV? I don't see how that equates. You might be saying that if they aren't informed about how to have "safe sex" then they are at a higher risk to be infected. Ok, I buy that. But why expect the worst out of someone. Why not teach them that sex is something to be respected and cherished. Only to be shared when married? Are kids going to do stupid things? Well if their parents let them and demonstrate stupidity themselves. Why not lead by example and elevate the kids to higher thinking. The liberal thought that I should be able to do whatever I want with no consequence is insane, there are consequences to everything we do. Sometimes they are just a long time coming. The young people today are being shows how to be selfish and not respect other people or even themselves. Just do the drugs, have the sex and party all the time--it will be ok we will just take the morning after pills and be on our way. Grow a pair and man up. Take responsibility or someone will do it for you and then you will have trapped yourself and ask the government to bail your sorry butt out. I am tired of paying for health care for these people who smoke and are on welfare, the alcohol and other substances they abuse do affect me in the fees and taxes I have to pay and I am not doing the junk they are. Let them work and pay their own way.

What this question is asking is who are you willing to let run your life? Or the lives of your children. We are slowly step by step giving away our freedoms in the name of free choice. Don't you see the irony? It is crazy thick.

People want to have "free sex" but then don't know why they are addicted to sex (if you think your not, turn off the porn and live without it for awhile and see whos in control). It is slavery. Same for tobacco, alcohol or even just gambling. Everytime you think you are choosing your way you are giving up your future. For what? An orgasm? A few minutes of self serving and you tighten the shackles on your own legs.

I think educators should practice abstinence when it comes to their students. As for what you're actually asking, abstinence is a scam used to dodge responsibility (on the part of the proponents of abstinence for dodging their responsibility to admit that their children are animals instead of programmable robots that can ignore the instincts that have kept humankind alive for thousands of years) and a scam used to get people to breed faster so that the religious demographics can be renewed and made ashamed of themselves at the same time. It's a hypocritical bullshit routine. They need little kids to brainwash into their BS so they tell their teens to 'just keep it in your pants', knowing deep down that this seldom works, and then they guilt trip the kids for getting pregnant and then take advantage of that pregnancy to renew their numbers.

In the days when sex education was left to parents it was rare for a baby to be born outside marriage and even more rare for a baby to be born to a young teenager. Parents did not enlighten their children with the facts of life beyond what they asked or what the parent deemed necessary for them to know. Consequently, experimentation was rare. Boys tended to have the urge to experiment more than girls but, as girls had been taught that certain behaviour was wrong, the boys rarely got their way.

There was no 'pill' in those days so, for some, it wasn't a case of being good because the youngsters had the desire to be good, it was a fear of not getting pregnant which kept them on the straight and narrow until marriage but, that being said, it shows that will power can be exercised. Now that there are so many choices of BIRTH control no-one seems to think it necessary to exercise SELF control. They seem to have forgotten that self respect comes into the equation too.

Abstinence, self-respect, respect of the other person, self-control, bowing to authority whilst under a certain age and under someone else's roof all seem to have been lost. These should all be taught in our schools and in our homes.

If they were, there would be fewer unwanted babies, fewer (if any) abortions, more educated teenagers and more happy, contented and long-lasting relationships.

However, it is highly unlikely that any of this will happen because the generation of people who are now the teachers of school age children have been brought up themselves in a society without rules. You cannot pass on to a next generation something which you do not know, accept or understand yourself.

Opinions about this are WORTHLESS, when all the science says 'abstinence-only' is bad for kids and increases pregnancy and STD rates. There was a sickening study out of the UK directly linking abstinence 'education' to teenage HIV. You got that? This brought a death sentence to teenagers.

People are not entitled to their own facts. 'Abstinence only' is WRONG and anyone with morals would be against it.

If they are going to teach dirty sex like they have been, they should change now, and teach the abstinence. That is far better. So, I haven't heard of these teachings. I just keep getting hoards of mail telling me all the bad news, or anything in order for me to get stirred up enough to send them more money. I do think the abstinence program is a VERY good idea and hope that takes the place of the dirty sex program they were doing.

Long term abstinence only doesn't work to prevent older adolescents from engaging from sex and they end up engaging in the same behaviors anyway. What it can do is make the average age at which they begin older. In the end, it is sensible to promote safety and abstinence, but certainly not abstinence only.

Every Child has a right to protect their own health and make their own decisions. With out factual information they are denied that right. It is not a matter of just giving them condoms and teaching birth control, it is a matter of actually teaching information , or spreading lies in a classroom. If education is not factual, then we are doomed to a generation of ignorant citizens.

I'd rather give out condoms. People have been having sex at an early age since the beginning of time. After all, didn't god impregnate a little girl?