Open Thread: Abstinence

I’ve been seeing a lot of these open threads so I thought it would be fun to start one on Abstinence since I don’t really have any posts on that topic. Since this blog is one about sexual health issues I’m thinking, why not? Let’s talk about Abstinence.

I am a big fan of abstinence only as a way to prevent pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Diseases because it seems to be the only foolproof way of preventing stuff. Think about it, if you don’t have sex you can’t contract an STD and you can’t get pregnant, right? It’s really that simple in theory but what about real life every day situations and circumstances that you might find yourself in? Can you think of any instances where abstinence only does not work?

One thing that comes to mind is how Abstinence is being taught in schools. (Well, in schools that would even go there) Are young adults getting all of the information or are they only getting part of the information? I personally believe that if sex education is going to be taught in schools that abstinence as well as all of the other options should be presented too: ie birth control, condoms, etc.

Sure abstinence works but only if it’s used correctly, right?

I’d like to hear from you. What do you think of when you hear the word Abstinence? Do you think it works? If so, why? Do you think that it doesn’t work and if so, why not?