• In 2003, the teenage birthrate fell 3 percent to 41.6 births per 1,000 women age 15 – 19 years, another record low for the nation.
• The rate has plummeted by one-third since the 1991 peak (61.8).
• The rate for females age 10 to 14 declined to 0.6 per 1,000, a one-third decline since 2000.
• Birth rates for teenagers 15 to 17 and 18 to 19 each fell 3 percent.
• The rate for ages 15 to 17 was 22.4 per 1,000, 42 percent lower than in 1991.
• The rate for ages 18 to 19 years was 70.7 per 1,000, 25 percent lower than in 1991.
• Declines in rates have been especially striking for black teenagers: their overall rate dropped 45 percent since 1991, whereas the rate for young black females 15 to 17 years has plunged more than half.
• Rate declines for all teenagers were substantial enough to more than compensate for the increased number of female teenagers, so that the number of births to women under 20 dropped to the fewest since 1946, the first year of the baby boom.

Childbearing by Unmarried Women – A Continued Concern

• Childbearing by unmarried women rose steeply in 2003. The birth rate per 1,000 unmarried women age 15 to 44 years jumped 3 percent to 44.9 births, breaking an eight-year period of little change.
• The number of births to unmarried women climbed 4 percent to 1,415,995, the highest number recorded in the more than six decades for which national data are available.
• The proportion of all births to unmarried women increased to 34.6 percent; this measure has risen steadily since the late 1990s.
• Despite the overall increases, birth rates for unmarried teenagers continued to fall, with declines for younger teenagers outpacing those for older teenagers.

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Teen Sexual Behavior Quick Facts
by Kjersten Oligney and Linda Klepacki

STD Quick Facts
by Kjersten Oligney, Reginald Finger and Linda Klepacki

HIV/AIDS Quick Facts
by Kjersten Oligney and Linda Klepacki
This fact sheet provides a link to AIDS/HIV global statistics' equivalencies of impact upon city populations.

Teen Pregnancy Quick Facts
by Kjersten Oligney and Linda Klepacki
Quick facts on teen contraception, pregnancy, abortion and motherhood

Condom Quick Facts
by Kjersten Oligney and Linda Klepacki

Oral Sex Quick Facts
by Kjersten Oligney and Linda Klepacki


Condoms and Abstinence: Separating Truth From Myth


(Note: The following section may contain links to external Web sites. Referrals to sites not produced by Focus on the Family are for informational purposes only, and do not constitute an endorsement of the sites' content.)

'Screw Abstinence Party' in Seattle: An amazing perplexity
by Linda Klepacki
This event is being marketed as the "Screw Abstinence Party."

Hollywood's Pointless Penance
by Linda Klepacki
They left the easy life because they really want to serve the poorest and most miserable people on the planet. But after years of encouraging "free, safe sex," you have to wonder how much they contributed to this mess they're now trying to clean up.

Focus on the Family Announces Virginity Study
May 6, 2005
Remaining a virgin through adolescence brings a host of positive effects, according to a study released April 27.

California Petition Targets 'Sexual Indoctrination' in Public Schools
October 7, 2004
by Jim Brown and Jody Brown
A new state petition seeks to prohibit the homosexual and transsexual indoctrination of children in California's elementary schools.
(Agape Press, 2004)

Sex Education -- By the Book
October 25, 2004
by Melissa G. Pardue
The controversy concerns the updating of health textbooks -- in particular, the chapters dealing with sex education.

Depo-Provera Puts Women at Risk, Study Says
September 13, 2004
by Steve Jordahl
The U.S. is shipping a contraceptive to Africa that puts women at greater risk for certain STDs.
(Family News in Focus, 2004)


Worth Waiting For is a series of three Christian sex-ed resources created by licensed counselor David Scherrer and Focus on the Family abstinence expert Linda Klepacki.

Celebrating Changes supplies all the tools churches need to host a one-day sex-ed seminar for middle schoolers and parents, emphasizing the physical changes that come with puberty (one track for 5th- and 6th-graders, another for more sophisticated 7th- and 8th-graders). Ask for item code P00072B.
Fearless Love is a frank, culturally relevant eight-lesson study for high schoolers, with activities and reproducible tools. Ask for item code P00084B.
How to Talk to Your Kids About Sexuality answers questions teens ask, with candid discussion material and a small-group leader’s guide. Perfect for parents to teach their children, home-schooling parents, pastors and church laity. Ask for item code P00083B.

All these items are available at Focus on the Family Resources or by calling 1-800-A-Family.

Click here for a full listing of Recommended Resources.

Click here for a full listing of For Further Study resources.