Sex-education programs promoting abstinence have been demonstrated to work in reducing teen pregnancies, according to an analysis by the American Life League of recently-published research by the Guttmacher Institute, the research arm of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. In Canada, the Canadian Federation for Sexual Health (CFSH), the Canadian branch of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, supports Canadian Youth for Choice, which also claims that abstinence-only programs fail to reduce pregnancies.

The Guttmacher Institute’s research shows that the pregnancy rate among teenagers in the U.S. rose by three per cent in 2006, reflecting increases in teen birth and abortion rates of four per cent and one per cent, respectively.

Planned Parenthood claims that the results are an indictment of abstinence-only sex-education programs of the Bush Administration. In reality, the true blame lies with Planned Parenthood and its own sex-education programs that promote contraception.

Jim Sedlak, vice president of the American Life League and founder of Stop Planned Parenthood International, commented on reviewing the report: “When you don’t tell kids to remain abstinent, they have more sex and more of them get pregnant. Pregnancy rates go down when kids don’t have sex.”

He laid out the timeline that proves Planned Parenthood’s contention wrong and American Life League’s correct:

• “Prior to 1990, teen pregnancy rates were increasing just about every year, as Planned Parenthood’s sex-ed programs dominated public and private school sex-education courses.
• “In the early 1990s, it became popular to teach the abstinence message to teens and preteens. Teen pregnancy rates began to fall.
• “By 1995, the (U.S.) federal government was funding an abstinence-only message while pregnancy rates continued to fall.
• “By 2000, Planned Parenthood began lobbying various states to refuse abstinence money and reduce abstinence programs, and predictably, in 2006, the teen pregnancy rate increased for the first time in 15 years.

“Today, partnering with President Obama, Planned Parenthood lobbying has succeeded in virtually cutting off abstinence-only funds.

“We can only imagine how high the teen pregnancy rates will go.”

American Life League is a Catholic pro-life education organization.