Sexual Choices
The Safest Sex
Teen pregnancy, abortion, and sexually transmitted disease (STD) are big problems around the world caused by sexual activity. Various forms of birth control and disease prevention methods are available to people engaging in sexual behavior, each with varying degrees of success. However, there is only one method that is 100 percent effective in preventing unplanned pregnancy and the transfer of sexually transmitted diseases — sexual abstinence.
Sex and Teens: Some Numbers
Here are a few important stats about pregnancy in the U.S.:
"Secondary Virginity is a return to abstinence following sexual debut. A commitment to secondary virginity is often made with the goal of remaining abstinent until marriage. Increasing numbers of teens and young adults are making this decision to reduce their considerable risk for sexually transmitted infections and nonmarital pregnancies. It is an empowering decision, setting the secondary virgin on the path to better health, happiness and even greater life success."
— The Medical Institute |
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- Teenagers in the U.S. have the highest rates of pregnancy, abortion and childbearing among all developed countries (such as Canada, England and France).
- The U.S. is one of only five countries to have a pregnancy rate of 70 or more pregnancies for every 1000 teens, per year. The others are Belarus, Bulgaria, Romania, and the Russian Federation.
- Teenagers in the U.S. have a higher rate of STDs than other developed countries, with approximately 4 million new STD infections occurring each year.
- U.S. teenagers are also more likely to engage in sexual intercourse before age 15 than teens in other developed countries. Their sexual relationships are also more likely to be sporadic and short in length.
- More than three quarters of teen pregnancies are unintended, with one quarter ending in abortion.
Despite some of those disturbing statistics, teenage pregnancy rates in the United States have been gradually declining through the 1990s and on. There is great debate as to the biggest reasons for the decline (which are numerous), but it is clear that increased abstinence has been one important factor. One study calculated that one fourth of the decreased pregnancy rate between 1988 and 1995 came from increased abstinence.
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