abstinence

U.S. Teen Birthrates Are Down, But Still High in Bible Belt

(También en Español)
News of Note: U.S. Teen Birthrates Are Down, But Still High in These States

In 2009, a landmark study found a strong correlation between religion and teen pregnancy. The CDC’s newest data suggests not much has changed. Teen pregnancy closely follows the contours of America’s Bible belt, according to the map (above) from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

It’s quite clear that teenagers want to have sex and no amount of discouragement or abstinence-only sex education is going to stop them.

The religious idea that sex should only exist for procreation has no business denying teenagers access to valuable health information (about birth control). Take a look at divorce rates in the bible belt, they are equally embarrassing. How much longer do you think this hypocrisy will last before everyone realizes it’s okay to enjoy sex?

Utah legislature passes bill requiring ‘abstinence-only’ sex education — or none at all

(También en Español)

News of Note: Utah legislature passes bill requiring ‘abstinence-only’ sex education — or none at all

Utah legislature has passed a sex education bill that allows schools to decide whether they will teach students about human sexuality and in the event that they do, requires that it use “abstinence-only instruction materials.” The bill now goes to the governor for approval.

Abstinence only education ignores the fact that human beings will inevitably have sex. Parents may be scared to death that their child could become sexually active, but that shouldn’t justify denying all children information about contraceptives and other aspects of sexual health. America’s obsession with sexual repression continues to take this country further backwards. What do you think it’s going to take to end this abusive trend?

Creative Commons image by Flickingerbrad

Most single Christians are having sex

(También en Español)

News of note: A recent study reveals most single Christians are having sex. We undress why.

Dr. Jenell Williams Paris, an anthropologist and the author of The End of Sexual Identity: Why Sex Is Too Important to Define Who We Are, says the high rates of premarital sex are a call to the Church to live in reality.

“We need to talk to people as they really live in the world they really live in,” Paris says. “If rates of premarital sex are really that high, but we continue to talk as if the vast majority of people are virgins when they get married, weʼre out of touch. We need to address reality.”

And the reality is the numbers arenʼt going down. Of those 80 percent of Christians in the 18-29 age range who have had sex before marriage, 64 percent have done so within the last year and 42 percent are in a current sexual relationship.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, nearly half of all pregnancies in America are unintended. And of those, 40 percent end in abortion. More than 1 million abortions occur in the United States each year. But perhaps the most disturbing statistic for the Church: 65 percent of the women obtaining abortions identify themselves as either Protestant or Catholic (37 percent Protestant and 28 percent Catholic). Thatʼs 650,000 abortions obtained by Christians every year.

Why do people still go on about abstinence when so few people intend on practicing it? I agree that the high rates of premarital sex is a call for “the church” to live in reality. It is also a call for these projected virtues to be questioned. Remaining chaste until marriage represses one’s sexuality and significantly limits experience. I’m suggesting that everyone starts being honest with themselves, because our actions are speaking louder than words. Let us know what you think.

New Hampshire Lawmaker Urges Married Couples To Practice Abstinence

(También en Español)

News of Note: New Hampshire Lawmaker Urges Married Couples To Practice Abstinence

A New Hampshire lawmaker with a history of surprising statements suggested on Thursday that married couples who want to use contraception should practice abstinence instead of using birth control pills

State Rep. Lynne Blankenbeker (R-Concord) made the claim — noting that abstinence is available “over the counter” along with condoms — during a legislative committee hearing on a resolution urging the Obama administration to drop the birth control requirement for religious organizations. Blankenbeker was trying to explain her position on why the administration’s requirement to provide insurance coverage for birth control should be overturned.

“People with or without insurance have two affordable choices, one being abstinence and the other being condoms, both of which you can get over the counter,” she said.

The conservative battle against human sexuality seems to be endless. Telling married couples that sexual abstinence is another form of birth control, completely disregards all appreciation couples may have for sex. The religious belief that sex should exist only for procreation is both unhealthy and offensive. These backward ideologies only worsen the depth of sexual repression that our culture already suffers from.

Ever have sex without the intent of making babies? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

The Sexual Freedom Project: Criticizing Moves Like That

(También en Español)

BREAKING NEWS? Abstinence-only education is a failure and causes huge problems. Every society suffers without health and sex education, including the safety of contraceptives.

We also have to cope with our “politicians” often counter-productive actions.

When do you think sex education should begin for children? what age? at home or from friends or at school? (Only after marriage??)

How can sex education and age of consent vary so widely state to state? where the trail of abstinence only sex ed leaves a trail of higher unwanted pregnancies at earlier and earlier ages?

What’s your experience holding elected and appointed accountable? Should we have a national bill of rights that provides for the mandatory health and sex education of all minors?

Send us your thoughts, comment, make your own video or write a short essay, or send us your visual ideas that express the ideals of sexual freedom, and we’ll thank you with a free VenusPlusX t-shirt .

Video by Tiye Massey.

TRANSCRIPT by David Kreps

So you take abstinence-only education in the United States. That is a huge problem for sexual freedom in this country. I feel that we can’t really be free sexually if we’re not informed, and abstinence-only education has been demonstrated not to be effective. All the research indicates that it’s not going to prevent people from having sex and… So they’re going to be just as likely to have sex and when they are, they’re not going to be as apt or as knowledgeable about contraception and all the relevant information. So, for example, Hillary Clinton came out a couple years ago, I want to say  2008? She said, “Abstinence-only education doesn’t work, we know that it doesn’t,” and then she pours a few more million dollars into these programs and you’re just like “What??” (laughs) So yeah, we should be criticizing moves like that, and then we’ll get to where we want to be with sexual freedom.