The Real Crisis in Washington

May 26, 2009

By Scott Phelps

In The Real Pregnancy Crisis (Wall Street Journal 5/22), Dr. W. Bradford Wilcox has once again shown that today’s “pregnancy crisis” is not occurring among teens.  In fact, while teen birth rates are near an all-time recorded low, out-of-wedlock birth rates are at an all time high.  The out-of-wedlock birth rate of 40% is up from 5% in 1960 and remarkably stands at 60% among young twentysomethings (20-24).  The real crisis, then, is that teens are merely delaying pregnancy rather than saving pregnancy for marriage – a critical distinction with important socio-economic implications. 

Recognizing that out-of-wedlock birth is one of the leading indicators of poverty and welfare dependency, President Clinton signed “Welfare Reform” in 1996 which included a provision to teach teens that sexual abstinence before marriage helps reduce poverty and government dependence in the long run.  Despite the success of this program, Congress (read Henry Waxman et al.) and the Obama administration have stripped welfare reform of this key provision and are currently moving to eliminate all funding for abstinence education. 

The claim used to justify this move is that according to “studies” these programs “don’t work,” but some facts are in order:  Many more “studies” are beginning to show the effectiveness of these relatively young programs.  Furthermore, since passage of welfare reform in 1996, sexual activity, pregnancies, births, and abortions for school-aged teens have all been in steady decline according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).  Among one of the more challenging demographics, teen boys ages 15-17, the percentage of those who have had sex fell from 43% in 1995 to 31% in 2002.  Indeed, the only area showing progress in reduction of out-of-wedlock births is among school-aged teens (under 18) to whom these programs are provided.  In fact, school-aged teens now represent less than 1 in 10 out-of-wedlock births (8.0%), and these numbers keep dropping.  Alternatively, ages 18 and above represent more than 9 in 10 out-of-wedlock births (92%), and these numbers keep climbing.

While the President claims that his so-called “comprehensive sex-ed” plan will “emphasize abstinence,” he has apparently been misinformed.  The truth is that these programs essentially teach teens to “save sex for condoms.”  Abstinence programs teach teens to “save sex for marriage” and provide teens with skills to resist sexual pressures.  Following Dr. Wilcox and others, abstinence programs teach the objective fact that marriage is the safest, healthiest context for sexual activity, and the most promising environment for the rearing of children.  This message is now on the chopping block in Washington, but all teens should have the opportunity to hear a clearly reasoned, positive presentation on the benefits of abstinence before marriage and so choose their own course of action.  Dr. Wilcox is exactly right in identifying the crisis before us.  Let’s hope it’s not too late for Washington to see and to act in the best interests of our teens.  Congress should restore abstinence education programs as one important tool in reducing future out-of-wedlock births as this will have significant implications for the social and economic well being of the nation.

Mr. Phelps is the Executive Director of A&M Partnership in Chicago and the Vice-Chairman of the National Abstinence Education Association in Washington, DC.