The smartest and healthiest choice is to remain abstinent until you are married

Unlike animals who "mate" for the sole purpose of having babies, humans have sex, not just to have babies, but also to express the most intimate form of love. It is passionate, pleasurable and life-giving when shared between a husband and wife.

Outside of marriage it may be pleasurable, it may be passionate, but it isn't life-giving - meaning it doesn't help build a relationship - in fact, it often destroys relationships.

Think of how you think you would feel after having sex the first time - Happy? Awesome? In Love?

Wrong, wrong, and wrong again.

Sounds strange, but here's what teens - honest teens - who were willing to share their feelings after having sex for the first time said they felt:

Used - Dirty - Lonely - Confused - Scared - Ashamed - Sad

Still not convinced you should wait until your married? After all, these are just emotions, you'll get over it - right? Maybe, maybe not. Your emotions affect they way you look at life and the way you feel about yourself. The negative feelings you could experience after having sex too soon can change your life. It's a gamble.

Even if you're ready to gamble with your heart, are you ready to gamble with your life?

STDs

Sexually Transmitted Diseases - Here's the real gamble and the odds are not good.

• Most STDs occur in people under age 25
• 1 out of every 4 sexually active teens contracts an STD
• Every day there are 10,000 new cases of STDs among teenagers

The Doctor Can Help - Right?

There are two types of STDs - Non-Viral and Viral

If you get a non-viral STD and you are lucky enough to display symptoms and smart enough to seek treatment, then there is usually a cure. You also get the added bonus of contacting all of your previous sex partners to tell them you're infected and they may be too. Won't that do a lot for your popularity!

If you get a viral STD, you have lost - big time. There is no cure. Some can be managed, but they will always be with you.

Others can lead to the paying the ultimate price - with your life. There is no cure for HIV/AIDS. People still die from this disease every day.

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) can be just as deadly. HPV causes genital warts - disgusting in their own right, but even worse for thousands of women every year. HPV is the cause of virtually all cervical cancer in women (93-99.7%). HPV is the fastest spreading STD with 5.5 MILLION new cases every year. Often it shows no symptoms in men or women so it spreads quickly.

Captain Condom Will Save The day! Um…….. No

Would you jump out of a plane if your parachute worked just sometimes?

The truth is condoms fail. They can fail in preventing pregnancy and they can fail in preventing a wide range of STDs. In fact, they offer no protection against skin-skin spread STDs like HPV - the most common STD.

Condoms fail for any number of reasons

• They can fail because they are not used right
• They can fail because they were not stored properly
• They can simply fail because of "minor" defects in the product itself.

"Safe sex" - is not safe! The National Institute of Health studied 8 STDs and reviewed more than 10 years' worth of research on how effective condoms were at preventing infection. What they discovered was that there was no scientific evidence that condoms were effective against 6 of the 8 diseases. For a seventh disease, gonorrhea, condoms provided some protection for men but not for women.

So Why Wait? - because - Waiting is easier…

• Easier than dealing with the bad feelings
• Easier than lying to your parents
• Easier than getting a disease
• Easier than telling your future wife or husband you have an incurable disease