School sex education programs that concentrate on abstinence are under threat despite years of federal funding for organizations like Virginity Rules, the New York Times reports. Eleven states have rejected abstinence education in the last year and Congress cut program funding for the first time since 2001. A study of abstinence education found no indication that it delayed a first sexual encounter.
“The message will go on, whether the government decides to fund it or not,” insisted one leading proponent of abstinence programs. Ironically, as abstinence education wanes, teenagers are abstaining from sex in larger numbers for reasons that are not well understood. Those who are having sex are more likely to use contraception than previous generations.