Valerie Huber's Response to New Guttmacher Report
A study released yesterday indicates that most Americans do not wait until they marry before engaging in sex. This report, due to be released in a peer review journal, was conducted by the Guttmacher Institute, an anti-abstinence group.
Critics are sure to use this study as proof that abstinence until marriage education is out of touch with reality. However, the fact that most Americans engage in premarital sex only emphasizes the necessity of this educational strategy.
By way of comparison, consider the push by nutritionists and the US Dept of Agriculture (USDA) to encourage healthy diets. Virtually everyone is familiar with the food pyramid and the need to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. However, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition recently released a study that indicates that the average American accrues 1/3 of his daily calorie intake through junk food. Does this information make the efforts of the USDA and others useless? On the contrary, it only emphasizes the great need for education, skill building and redoubled strategies to encourage healthy eating.
The same is true for abstinence education. While it may be true that most Americans engage in premarital sex at some point in their single lives, the fact of the matter remains that the healthiest decision (for both the individual and children born to that individual) is by saving sex for marriage. The longer the individual delays sex, the less likely they are to acquire STDs or unwittingly place a child at risk for poverty by giving birth as a single parent.
Similar to the approach for healthy eating, abstinence until marriage education is increasingly more vital as a public health strategy.
Valerie Huber
