Catholic Fire

Consider the Costs Excluding the costs incurred to treat HIV, an estimated $8 billion dollars is spent annually to diagnose and treat STI's. There were 757,000 girls ages 15 to 19 who became pregnant in 2002. Fifty percent of unmarried teens were aided by governmental assistance programs within one year of giving birth. Babies born to adolescent mothers are at an increased risk for both prematurity and low birth weight. Compared to children from two parent homes, the generation born to teen mothers is at an increased risk for neglect, incarceration, and drug use. In general, teen mothers attain much lower levels of education than than other women, severely limiting their career options and sharply increasing their likelihood of economic dependency. Only 70% of teen mothers complete high school education or earn a GED, and 1.5% earn a college degree by the age of 30. Abstinence Education Works Since 1991, when federal abstinence funding began, there has been a 43% decrease in births...

The National Catholic Register editors have written a wonderful piece for their February 18 - 24 entitled "Abstinence Saves Lives." It is an excellent article and I recommend you read it. This article has inspired me to share my newfound knowledge of abstinence which I acquired from a recent visit to an a new abstinence program that is helping to save lives in Wichita, KS. The program which, is federally - funded, is called Pure and Simple Abstinence Education, Inc. They have an online website which I have included in my sidebar. To look at it - just click here. Why Abstinence Works It's a Different World Out There Consider these facts... There are at least 25 sexually transmitted infections (STI's) and other strains are being identified. One in two sexually active young people will contract an STI by the age of 25. From 1986 through 2005, the rates of reported Chlamydia infections increased from 35.2 to 332.5 per 100,000 population. The United States has an epidemic...