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Bruce Cook – President & Founder of Choosing the Best
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Atlanta, December 8, 2011 — A recent analysis by researchers at the University of Georgia, titled “Abstinence-Only Education and Teen Pregnancy Rates:  Why We Need Comprehensive Sex Education in the U.S.” draws faulty conclusions and offers little help or insight into the complex problem of teen pregnancy and how to solve it. The UGA researchers classified states according to their laws about sex education and found that states that had laws or policies emphasizing abstinence had, on average, higher teenage pregnancy and birth rates while those whose policies emphasized comprehensive sex education had the lowest teen pregnancy rates. The researchers used this correlation to draw a faulty conclusion that abstinence education was actually causing higher pregnancy rates, violating basic research protocol against using correlations to claim causation. In fact, the study’s lead researcher, Kathrin Stanger-Hall admitted, “Because correlation does not imply causation, our analysis cannot demonstrate that [states] emphasizing abstinence causes increased teen pregnancy.”

Abstinence Education More Effective than Comprehensive or Safe Sex Programs

Atlanta, February 3, 2010 — A new study shows that abstinence education significantly reduces the initiation of teen sex and is more effective than either comprehensive or safe sex programs. Published in the current issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, the study evaluated urban, middle school students receiving one of three different types of sex education programs:

Teen Pregnancy Rates Slashed by nearly 50% since Abstinence Education Implemented

Atlanta, June 22, 2007 — Since the initiation of abstinence education in Georgia eleven years ago, Georgia has again seen a sharp decline in teen pregnancy rates. The latest data shows that pregnancy rates among Georgia teens aged 15-17 have fallen from 68 (per 1000) in 1994 to 36 in 2005, a decrease of 46% over the past 11 years. View chart

Zogby Survey Shows Dramatic Shift in Attitudes Once Parents Understand Differences Between Abstinence and Comprehensive Sex Education

Atlanta, May 4, 2007 — The National Abstinence Education Association (NAEA) today released a new survey from Zogby International showing that when parents become aware of what abstinence education vs. comprehensive sex education actually teaches, support for abstinence programs jumps from 40% to 60%, while support for comprehensive programs drops from 50% to 30%. This sharp increase in support of abstinence education is seen across all political and economic groups.

Mathematica Findings Too Narrow

ATLANTA, April 16, 2007 — The recent March conference on the Evaluation of Abstinence Education, sponsored by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), featured at least 30 significant evaluation studies that demonstrated positive trends in teen abstinent behavior, says Valerie Huber, Executive Director of the National Abstinence Education Association (NAEA). The NAEA also recently released a list of numerous peer-reviewed, published studies that demonstrate that abstinence education programs are effective in delaying sexual debut, reducing partners once sexually active, and empowering sexually experienced students to embrace abstinent behavior. This list is available online at http://www.abstinenceassociation.org/docs/NAEA_Abstinence_Works_041207.pdf (PDF, ~50KB)