crisis pregnancy centers

We would love to share with you a little about the history of the curricula we use and our approach to sex education.

Specifically, we utilize two curricula: Worth the Wait (6th-8th Grade) and Passion & Principles (9th-12th grade).

The program now known as Worth the Wait had its beginnings in 1996, under the leadership of Patricia Sulak, M.D., a practicing obstetrician/gynecologist at Scott & White Memorial Hospital and Clinic in Temple, Texas, the institution which subsequently developed and piloted the unique sex education program based entirely on medically sound information to educate adolescents and adults. The program was developed by Scott & White healthcare professionals with input from teachers, attorneys, and a child psychologist. Special components were created specifically for adolescents, parents, teachers, and healthcare professionals. The program covers the medical, social, legal and economic consequences of premature sexual activity. Worth the Wait was introduced to the CPC Prevention curriculum offerings in February of 2006 when we received our second Arizona Title V grant. Worth the Wait is a progressive program; as students advance from grade to grade they receive more detailed information and build upon knowledge acquired in previous years.

We believe knowledge applied is power, so we do everything we can to teach teens the truth about the messages of "safe sex" versus "save sex," the latter being a 100 percent safeguard against any harmful physical, emotional, social, and spiritual consequences. In all of our presentations we supply tested, medically accurate information. The students are given the facts and then encouraged to determine their course of action. Passion & Principles five-hour curriculum includes topics like "Worth Waiting for," "Risky Behaviors," and "Love Versus Lust."

In addition, we educate students about current sexually transmitted infections (STIs), condom failure rates, the powerful influence of the media, and statistics that help students to make sound and healthy decisions. We emphasize the importance of setting boundaries in relationships and the need for establishing specific life goals. We also encourage sexually active teens and unmarried adults to reclaim their virginity and to commit to "secondary virginity."

Teens completing the Passion & Principles curriculum are presented with a remarkable opportunity for freedom from the common emotional and physical complications associated with an early sexual debut. Unlike "comprehensive" sex education, we desire to empower teens to make healthy choices by sending a clear message of their responsibility to make an informed decision. We realize that confidence and courage are necessary for the decisions that sexual self-control requires, and so we make a concerted effort to instill those in young people as well. The merits of abstinence-until-marriage (ATM) education cannot be refuted:

• 100% effective
• No side effects or health risks
• Prevents pregnancy and STIs
• Prevents emotional problems that can occur with teen sex
• Endorsed by many medical, religious, and community groups

We encourage you to review the evidence that abstinence programs across the country continue to unearth, namely that they save taxpayers money and lead to a healthier tomorrow for all of us. Allow us to cite a sampling of the supporting facts:

The 2006 National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, "By the Numbers: The Public Costs of Teen Childbearing," confirms that the annual cost savings to taxpayers since abstinence education has been funded for teenagers nationwide is $6.9 billion.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, sexually active teens naturally have increased pregnancies, abortions, and sexually transmitted diseases which can lead to infertility, genital cancers, HIV, even death.

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University has determined that sexually active teens are more likely to take drugs and drink alcohol (2004). Subsequently, these teens perform lower in school, and the risk of an unplanned pregnancy brings an impending limit on their earning capacity, resulting in the nationally recognized lower socioeconomic status of teen mothers. ("By the Numbers: The Public Costs of Teen Childbearing," The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2006)

A commitment to abstinence will enable teens to eliminate unnecessary stress and risk from their already challenging adolescence. We are privileged to carry a provocative message that subtracts "gray" compromise while compelling critical thinking and opportunity as driving discussion points. We carry great expectations for the youth who complete our curriculum.