Federal Government Clarifies Abstinence Guidelines

Story >

Federal Government Clarifies Abstinence Guidelines

Special Report - November 1, 2006
States that receive abstinence education funds from the federal government are free to use them to encourage young adults in their twenties to remain abstinent outside of marriage, according to revised guidelines recently released by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The revision applies to the federal government’s Title V Abstinence Education Program, which allocates $50 million annually to the states to encourage abstinence as the best way to prevent unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. The new guidelines clarify that states may use abstinence education funds to reach adults between the ages of 20 and 29, in addition to teenagers. North Carolina is expected to receive approximately $1.25 million under the federal program for abstinence education in 2007. The guidelines prohibit state governments from using the funds to support “inherently religious activities” or promote “the use of contraception.”

Associate Commissioner Harry Wilson, who leads the ACF’s Family and Youth Services Bureau, said that encouraging abstinence among unmarried individuals is a strategy to help prevent negative outcomes, such as long-term poverty. “Encouraging two-parent families has benefits for society,” he said. Wilson also stressed that out-of-wedlock births occur most frequently among women in their twenties.

In fact, a study by the National Center for Health Statistics found that 337,201 births occurred among teenagers aged 15 to 19 in 2003, as compared with 836,558 births that occurred among unmarried women in the 20 to 29 year old demographic. According to the Title V guidelines, a need exists in American culture to educate communities about the benefits of abstinence and the many negative side effects associated with pre-marital sexual activity, including unwanted pregnancy, increased risks to children born out of wedlock, contraction of sexually transmitted diseases, and the overall cost to society.

To read more about abstinence education download our policy paper entitled "The Case for Abstinence: Why comprehensive sex education sends the wrong message."