History Now ~ Teen Abstinence

Schools in McLennan County, Texas have been passing out candies with a saying
!hile these candies relate to a""ection, they are not your run#o"#the#$ill %&e Mine' heart#shaped candies These are e$bla(oned %S)* +S M+NT ,-. MA..+A/)' and students are given an e$pty pledge card along with the$ The pledge as0s the$ to pro$ise to not engage is sexual relations until $arriage McLennan schools are not alone +n "act, they are 1ust one o" hundreds o" school districts around the nation since the early 2334s to adapt %abstinence only' sex education progra$s &e"ore that $any "ocused their instruction on the use o" various "or$s o" contraceptives, particularly condo$s, as a $ethod o" not only avoiding teenage pregnancy but the spread o" sexually trans$itted diseases as well The %abstinence only' progra$s gained a power"ul ally, when /eorge ! &ush was elected in 5444, a"ter pro$ising 6278 $illion in "ederal support !hether or not these progra$s wor0 is still a $atter o" debate Supporters point out that the national average "or teen pregnancies went down 29: "ro$ 2334 to 233; Critics point to a 544< study by researchers at Colu$bia and =ale that "ound that >>: o" the teenagers who $ade pledges to re$ain abstinent until $arriage went ahead and had sex anyway .egardless o" where one stands in this dispute, the central "ear is the sa$e? Children having children Teenagers who have babies are "ar $ore li0ely to live in poverty, not co$plete their education, put a stain on social resources, and bring their own children down with the$ This is nothing new, and neither is the atte$pt to prevent teenage pregnancy or pre$arital birth !hile $illions o" dollars, slogan#sta$ped $ints, or $ass public education ca$paigns were not available in the late eighteenth century, pre$arital births were still a "ear a$ong parents and co$$unity leaders &ac0 then, pre$arital pregnancies o"ten led to accelerated $arriages that probably would have ta0en place anyway Nonetheless, "a$ilies sought whatever $easures they could to avoid any social stig$a As a result, a peculiar practice began to develop in the northern colonies states This practice was 0nown as % bundling ' Noah !ebster@s 2>5> dictionary de"ined bundling as one that allowed couples to %sleep on the sa$e bed without undressing' with %the shared understanding that innocent endear$ents should not be exceeded ' +n so$e cases, a so#called %bundling board would be placed between the two More o"ten than not, i" the parents wanted the young people to behave, they would li0ely be sewed into the bed or have their gar$ents sewed in a particular $anner =ou $ay have seen this in the "il$, The Patriot However, bundling would not have li0ely occurred in the Carolinas in that period )ither way, the practice proved to be a "ailure Are$arital pregnancies continued and the practice was publicly $oc0ed in well#publici(ed poe$s, such as %A New &undling Song '