POV

Dr. Douglas Kirby,
Former Director of Research
National Campaign to Prevent Teenage Pregnancy
"It's not easy to change adolescent behavior, and we've certainly made a lot of mistakes over the years." | Read more »

Dr. Joseph McIlhaney,
Medical Institute of Sexual Health
"Despite extensive academic studies, multiple reports for years have shown almost no impact [from comprehensive programs]. Clearly, it's time to try something new — abstinence education." | Read more »

Dr. Peter Bearman,
Director of the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy and the Paul F. Lazarsfeld Center for the Social Sciences at Columbia University
"Many kids have sex whether they pledge [to remain abstinent] or not, [but] pledgers, when they have sex as adolescents, were much less likely than non-pledgers to use contraceptives at first sex. " | Read more »

Dr. Rebecca Maynard,
Professor, Education and Social Policy
University of Pennsylvania
"The first thing to note is that very few kids in this country take the virginity pledge. It's gotten lot of publicity, but nationwide it's under 10 percent." | Read more »

Ashlee Reed & Al Ferreira,
Executive Director, Project 10 East and Former Teacher, Cambridge Rindge & Latin High School
In 1987, Mr. Ferreira, a photography teacher at Cambridge Rindge & Latin, started the first Gay Straight Alliance program in a northeastern high school. Today, Ashlee Reed heads up Project 10 East. | Read more »