To ABSTAIN from something means to go without, avoid doing, or give up. In the case of sex, you are choosing not to have any form of sexual intercourse. ABSTINENCE, then, is the act of abstaining or not having sex in this case.

Safe sex is a term that is often used to make clear to people engaging in sex or thinking about having sex that with sex you run the risk of getting diseases, infections or pregnant. It only takes one time of being careless or getting caught up in the moment for any of the above to happen. But the term safe sex is not quite accurate. SafeR sex is more appropriate because it suggests that there really is NO SUCH THING AS SAFE SEX – ONLY SAFER SEX. The only safe way to have sex is to NOT have sex – to abstain. The only foolproof, fail-safe way to have SAFER sex is to a whole other topic.

Abstinence-Only
Abstinence-only programs have been popular in schools since the 1990s. And since then, teenage sex, pregnancy, abortion and births have declined. The programs teach kids to stay away from all sexual activity until marriage. There is nothing about how to have safer sex or prevent pregnancy should you become sexually active. The feeling is that teaching abstinence and about contraception will send a mixed message – like, it’s ok to have sex if you are careful.

Abstinence Plus
Then there are those in favor of teaching abstinence, methods of birth control and ways to prevent getting sexually transmitted diseases together. They believe individuals need all the info – how to say ‘NO’ and how to remain healthy and safe should you become sexually active. They want people to receive this information early because studies show that abstinence and sex ed decrease the chance of teens having sex, getting pregnant or contracting diseases. Providing the scary truth about disease and childbirth increases the possibility of teens CHOOSING to abstain from sex until they are ready.

Abstinence and Health
Sex ed usually talks a bit about the emotional and social consequences of having sex before you’re ready. You might regret it, you may become a victim of rumors and gossip, and you could mistakenly think that sex will keep a guy or girl and end up alone. In reality, having premature sex can be more costly in the long run than being dumped or having a few things said about you behind your back.

There are very serious health issues to worry about when confronted with the subject of sex. For instance: the cervix of a young girl is more vulnerable to STDs than that of a woman. For females, the risk of cancer increases with each partner because the chance of getting Human Papilloma Virus (responsible for 93% of all abnormal pap smears and cervical cancer) increases. The earlier your teens begin having sex, the more sexual partners they are likely to have. Then there is the issue of infertility. The most common STDs are human papilloma virus, herpes, Chlamydia and gonorrhea. Chlamydia and gonorrhea can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, which can lead to acute and chronic pain, tubal pregnancies and infertility.

Abstinence and Morality
Sex is a moral issue for many people. The act of having sex before marriage is a sin in most religions. But sex doesn’t have to be a moral matter. You can decide to abstain from sex for a variety of reasons.

Renewed Abstinence
This is like being a “born again” virgin. You’ve had sex, but have now taken a pledge of abstinence for whatever reason. Some teens realize that they just aren’t ready for that type of relationship. Others have bad experiences with sex or don’t want that type of pressure. They have more important things to worry about, like college, family, friends – their future.