Why Abstinence?

The best form of protection against sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancies is to remain sexually abstinent until marriage. Saving sex for marriage also promotes healthier marriages and protects women from the emotional consequences of a broken heart. The idea of committing to abstinence is not a new concept; millions of junior high and high schools students around the world have signed cards to solidify their commitment. Many social pressures and sexual temptations accompany the freedoms that are available after high school; our concern is that little is being done to motivate the college student to remain abstinent.

The following statistics and related comments exemplify the potential harm caused by premarital sex:

Health Concerns

Emotional & Life Concerns

Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Up to 46% of sexually active college women have HPV, which causes genital warts and is the primary cause of cervical cancer.
25% of new HIV cases are in people under age 22.
1 in 5 college students have Herpes, a virus with no cure, which causes painful genital blisters.
Condoms offer little protection against Herpes.
85% of women infected with Chlamydia, which causes sterility, have no symptoms.

Pregnancy

About 2.8 million women faced an unplanned pregnancy in 2000.
48% of the births in women aged 20-24 years occur outside of marriage.
Women in their 20掇 have the highest rate of non-marital childbearing.
Couple who live together before marriage are more likely to divorce than those who do not.

Emotional

Sex is a powerful, intimate act. If it is separated from the commitment and faithfulness of marriage, it can result in a lot of emptiness, pain, and guilt.
Of those who have had sex before marriage, more than half wish they had delayed sexual activity (survey by Sex Information and Education Council of the United States).

Life

On average, women who have non-marital births have less education attainment and lower incomes.

Marriage

Monogamous couples achieve greater intimacy because they have freedom from fears of comparison, rejection, disease, and abandonment (National Institute of Health and Care Research).
Individuals who engage in sex before marriage are more likely to commit adultery and get a divorce than those who do not (Journal of Marriage and Family).

Abstinence commitment conferences in the past have reaped success

In 1994, more than 211,000 True Love Waits commitment to purity cards covered the national mall in Washington D.C.
In February 1996, more than 350,000 cards were stacked to the roof of the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. 175,000 of the cards represented purity commitments from young people who live in 75 countries outside the U.S. Around 18,000 youths attended the rally at the Dome.
On October 2, 1999, over 1,500 youths participated in a prayer walk and in carrying 100,000 commitment cards across the length of the Golden Gate Bridge. A human display, the length of the bridge, was formed on Marina Green to show commitment to sexual purity before marriage.

This event will unify and encourage college-age women of Santa Barbara, and it will give them an opportunity to make a promise to be sexually pure until marriage in an environment that gives the commitment the value it deserves.

You can help make this memorable event possible! Donations of any size will make an incredible impact for this cause and positively influence the lives of the women who attend.

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