Abstinence News and Research

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Abstinence is a voluntary restraint from indulging a desire or appetite for certain bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to abstention from sexual intercourse, alcohol or food. The practice can arise from religious prohibitions or practical considerations.

Study shows inevitability of men's infidelity across cultures

For a growing number of women in rural Mexico, and around the world, marital sex represents their single greatest risk for HIV infection.

8 May 2007

Actions taken on abortion-related legislation in Kansas, Missouri, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas

The following highlights recent news of state actions on abortion-related legislation.

1 May 2007

PEPFAR 'on track' to meet goals when authorization expires, Dybul says

The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is "dead on track" to meet its goal of providing antiretroviral drugs to two million people when it's five-year authorization expires in 2008, Ambassador Mark Dybul, who serves as the U.S. global AIDS coordinator and administers PEPFAR, said Thursday in an interview during a visit to San Francisco, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

1 May 2007

Abstinence-only sex ed 'foolish,' 'indefensible' method of reducing teen pregnancies, STIs

Relying on abstinence-only sex education as the "primary tool to reduce teenage pregnancies" and sexually transmitted infections, as "favored by the Bush administration and conservatives in Congress, looks increasingly foolish and indefensible," a New York Times editorial says.

1 May 2007

HHS should enforce federal law that abstinence education programs teach 'medically accurate' information

American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States and Advocates for Youth on Thursday sent a letter to HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt saying that the agency should enforce a federal law that states abstinence education must include "medically accurate" information about condom effectiveness, the Washington Times reports (Wetzstein, Washington Times , 4/27).

1 May 2007

Oregon, Texas HIV/AIDS, STI awareness efforts focus on black youth

The following summarizes recent newspaper coverage of efforts in Texas and Oregon to increase HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections awareness among black youth.

1 May 2007

Alcoholics should avoid excessive physical and psychological stress during early abstinence

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is a hormonal system that defends against stress, starvation and illnesses.

24 Apr 2007

For teens - abstinence-only sex education programs...a waste of money!

It has taken a U.S. government report to confirm what experts in sexual behaviour have repeatedly warned about in recent years regarding teenage sex....abstinence just doesn't work.

16 Apr 2007

The passing of 'honest sex education policy' applauded

Yesterday, the Washington State House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 5297 by a vote of 63-34, paving the way for comprehensive sex education -- education that includes scientifically accurate information on abstinence and the health benefits of birth control and condoms -- to be taught in the state's schools.

15 Apr 2007

Researchers identify 221 genes possibly related to addiction vulnerability

Scientists supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, have for the first time identified genes that might increase a person's ability to abstain from smoking.

4 Apr 2007

Study suggests there's a role for religious institutions to play in the fight against HIV

HIV-positive people who say religion is an important part of their lives are likely to have fewer sexual partners and engage in high-risk sexual behavior less frequently than other people with the virus that causes AIDS, according to a study issued today by the RAND Corporation.

4 Apr 2007

HHS Assistant Secretary for children, families to step down

Wade Horn -- assistant secretary for HHS' Administration for Children and Families, who oversees abstinence education programs for the Bush administration -- on Monday announced that he will resign from his position, the Washington Post reports.

3 Apr 2007

President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief making significant contributions to the fight against HIV/AIDS pandemic

...but it needs to strengthen its prevention efforts and develop programs that ensure long-term sustainability in focus countries, according to a report released Friday by the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council, the Washington Post reports

2 Apr 2007

Breakthrough research finds genes which may help smoking cessation

2 Apr 2007

Efficacy of Ugandan HIV prevention programs decreasing

The efficacy of Uganda's HIV prevention programs is decreasing because a new generation of young people are no longer receiving the messages of fidelity that helped curb the country's HIV epidemic in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Washington Post reports.

2 Apr 2007

HIV-positive men who have sex before circumcision wounds are healed could increase female partners' infection risk

HIV-positive men undergoing circumcision might be more likely to transmit the virus to their female partners if they have sex before the circumcision wounds have healed, according to preliminary results from a study being conducted in Uganda and presented on Tuesday to 75 officials from the World Health Organization and UNAIDS at a meeting in Montreux, Switzerland, the Washington Post reports

8 Mar 2007

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle rejects federal abstinence education funds

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle (D) has directed the state Department of Health and Family Services to notify federal officials that Wisconsin is refusing $600,000 in Title V federal abstinence education funds for fiscal year 2007, health department spokesperson Stephanie Marquis said on Friday, the Madison Capital Times reports.

8 Mar 2007

Debate over HPV vaccine 'clouded' by worries about promiscuity

The debate over the Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil has been "clouded" by "worries about promiscuity," New York Times reporter Denise Grady writes in a column

8 Mar 2007

International donors must connect fight against HIV/AIDS to ending violence against women

Governments and international donors, including the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, need to address violence against women in the context of HIV/AIDS programs, according to a report conducted by Women Won't Wait and released on Tuesday, Reuters South Africa reports.

8 Mar 2007

Chantix versus Zyban

Researchers in the United States say smokers who fail to quit smoking by using pills, should not be disheartened and should try again.

25 Feb 2007

Abstinence News and Research

Further Reading

Study shows inevitability of men's infidelity across cultures

Actions taken on abortion-related legislation in Kansas, Missouri, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas

PEPFAR 'on track' to meet goals when authorization expires, Dybul says

Abstinence-only sex ed 'foolish,' 'indefensible' method of reducing teen pregnancies, STIs

HHS should enforce federal law that abstinence education programs teach 'medically accurate' information

Oregon, Texas HIV/AIDS, STI awareness efforts focus on black youth

Alcoholics should avoid excessive physical and psychological stress during early abstinence

For teens - abstinence-only sex education programs...a waste of money!

The passing of 'honest sex education policy' applauded

Researchers identify 221 genes possibly related to addiction vulnerability

Study suggests there's a role for religious institutions to play in the fight against HIV

HHS Assistant Secretary for children, families to step down

President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief making significant contributions to the fight against HIV/AIDS pandemic

Breakthrough research finds genes which may help smoking cessation

Efficacy of Ugandan HIV prevention programs decreasing

HIV-positive men who have sex before circumcision wounds are healed could increase female partners' infection risk

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle rejects federal abstinence education funds

Debate over HPV vaccine 'clouded' by worries about promiscuity

International donors must connect fight against HIV/AIDS to ending violence against women

Chantix versus Zyban

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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