Virginity pledge
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Virginity pledges (or abstinence pledges) are commitments made by teenagers and young adults to refrain from sexual intercourse until marriage.
Various social and religious groups promote virginity pledges. Leading supporters of the pledges include True Love Waits, which is sponsored by the Southern Baptist Convention, and the Silver Ring Thing. Both run national programs in the United States encouraging virginity pledges. Advocacy of virginity pledges is often coupled with support for abstinence-only sexual education in public schools. They propose that any other type of sexual education would promote what they told to be immoral and risky behavior, that is, sex outside of marriage. Advocates of virginity pledges argue that they are an effective tool in combating sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) and teenage pregnancy.
Scientific studies show that young adults who make an external commitment to maintain their virginity until marriage have similar rates of STI infection as those who have not made an external commitment. [1] (http://my.webmd.com/content/article/102/106704.htm) Other studies show that the effects of virginity pledges typically include the delay of vaginal sexual intercourse by 12 to 18 months, but with decreased likelihood of condom use at the first encounter. [2] (http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/102/106704.htm?pagenumber=2) Additionally, those who commit to sexual abstinence are more likely to participate in oral and anal sex than those who have not made that commitment. The conservative (and pro-abstinence) Heritage Foundation reports that "pledgers" are 40% less likely to have children outside of marriage and claim that abstinence education (without focus on contraceptive solutions) is consistent with the values of parents in the United States. [3] (http://www.heritage.org/Research/Welfare/wm461.cfm?renderforprint=1)
External links
Organizations
- True Love Waits (http://www.lifeway.com/tlw/)
- Silver Ring Thing (http://www.silverringthing.com/index.htm)
- Southern Baptist Convention (http://www.sbc.net/)
Reports
- Teens Who Make Virginity Pledges Have Substantially Improved Life Outcomes (http://www.heritage.org/Research/Family/cda04-07.cfm) A report from the Heritage Foundation
- Do Virginity Pledges Cause Virginity? (http://crahd.phi.org/VirginityPledges.html) A report from the Center for Research on Adolescent Health and Development
- The Good (and Bad?) News About Virginity Pledges (http://www.time.com/time/education/article/0,8599,93958,00.html) TIME article.