The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported the 2013 preliminary data on birth rates in the US by the National Center for Health Statistics and the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), a biennial survey reporting on health behaviors of youth. Combined the reports made two major announcements regarding teen birthrates and teen sexual activity:The 2013 preliminary birthrate for teenagers age 15-19 was 26.6 births per 1000 women, down 10% from 2012 (29.4), down 36% from … [Read more...]
Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2012
How did the US population fare in 2012 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released the report Sexually Transmitted Diseases Surveillance, 2012,1 an annual update of sexually transmitted disease (STD) statistics and trends in the US. This report includes the rates and trends of STD data in the US through 2012. Chlamydia continues to be the most commonly reported bacterial STD in the US with 1.4 million new cases. In the last two decades, rates of chlamydia … [Read more...]
Sex in the Real World, Revisited
by Matt Kaufman It's been nearly two years since Colin Powell went on MTV preaching the secular gospel of "safe sex." (I wrote about it in a column called "Sex in the Real World.") At the time, while appearing on a network known for condom ads in addition to various forms of raunchiness, Powell sung the praises of condoms ("I not only support their use, I encourage their use") and called upon "the whole international community" to rally behind his cause — to "forget about taboos, forget about … [Read more...]
Sex in the Real World
by Matt KaufmanCondom ads are nothing new for MTV, but on Valentine’s Day the network ran one for free. Unlike the raunchy spots they often run, this one was draped in respectability, delivered by a high government official in a suit and tie: Secretary of State Colin Powell.If you didn’t see the show — a 90-minute "global forum" where Powell fielded questions from a mostly college-age audience in seven countries — here’s the upshot. Asked by an Italian woman about the Catholic Church’s … [Read more...]
Adolescents with Bacterial STIs: Higher Risk for HIV
Within the last decade, there has been a steady increase in the rates of reportable sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in teenagers 15-19 years old. Although some of this increase is as a result of more sensitive screening methods, a considerable amount is due to a true rise of this infection among adolescents. Researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study from 2003 – 2010 in high schools in Philadelphia. Students who were born from 1983 to 1993 and had participated in the … [Read more...]
The Brushfires Foundation
This was mentioned in BreakPoint Commentaries on 26 July 2013. There's a ministry called The Brushfires Foundation that deals with repairing sexual brokenness and restoring sexual wholeness.In this sexual broken culture we're in, ministries such as The Brushfires Foundation that focuses on teaching Biblical perspectives on sex are definitely needed to straighten the distorted idea of sex.With the proliferation of pornography, sex, which was designed by God to be grand and beautiful has … [Read more...]
Nothing More Natural
Abstinence at Harvard By Chuck Colson | Published Date: April 21, 2008Next to freshman biology class, there is nothing more universal on college campuses than the "hookup scene." It is simply expected that students from state schools to the Ivy League will experiment with premarital sex. In the words of one Harvard student recently quoted in the New York Times: "For me, being a strong woman means not being ashamed that I like to have sex."Well, surprisingly there are growing numbers of … [Read more...]
Physicians Rallying to Abstinence Message
By Steve Jordahl, correspondent October 8, 2002Abstinence education is finding support among a growing number of medical doctors.Critics of abstinence education for teens have long argued it's just an agenda of conservative churches and organizations with a moral ax to grind. But overwhelming medical evidence is winning over a growing number of doctors. Dr. Frederic Brown typifies those who have concluded that condoms aren't medically viable to prevent disease.When young women come to see … [Read more...]
For Better or Worse . . . Mostly Worse
The State of Our Marital Unions BreakPoint with Charles Colson July 24, 2002Tina wants to get married, but her boyfriend Ted just wants to move in. Ted is an exceptionally honest young man, so here is what he says: "Tina, I'm fond of you, and I want to live with you for the following reasons. First, it will make it easier for me to enjoy regular sex. Second, I want to protect my assets—assets I'd have to share with you if we got a divorce. Third, you already have kids, and I don't want to … [Read more...]
“I Definitely Want Heads to Turn”
Simpson's Virginity, Immodesty Send Fans Mixed Messages With the release of her debut disc, Sweet Kisses, Jessica Simpson unwittingly became pop music's ambassador for abstinence. She didn't seek the title. It found her. Simpson, the daughter of a Baptist youth minister, had recorded the song "Heart of Innocence" and happened to mention in an interview that she was committed to saving sex for marriage. The label stuck. Over the past year, however, Simpson has made choices and comments that imply … [Read more...]