Abstinence-only education programmes have been controversial ever since they were introduced under Ronald Reagan in 1981.
"Abstinence-only curriculums have gone explicitly out of their way to teach misconceptions about contraception, " she said.
Still, as Tanya Somanader notes, this should help steer the conversation away from abstinence-only education.
FORBES: Study Finds Majority of Young Evangelicals Have Premarital Sex
"Studies find that kids in abstinence-only programs have negative, biased views about whether condoms work, " she says.
America's government earmarks money for abstinence-only teaching, which is matched by individual states.
Rosenbaum is concerned that abstinence-only sex education programs that promote virginity pledges may also promote a negative view of condoms and birth control.
Some people advocate abstinence-only programs, which teach kids to wait for sex and often focus on the risks of sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy.
Groups such as the Family Research Council continue to advocate for abstinence-only education at the K-12 level, but the organization does not have an official stance on what sex education should happen beyond that, Sprigg said.
In contrast to the fears of the protagonists of abstinence-only education, not one of the trials found that teenagers behaved in a riskier fashion in either the long or the short term after receiving abstinence-plus instruction.
The discrepancy between both wanting to plan pregnancy and having unprotected sex may have something to do with a focus in recent years on abstinence-only education, said Laura Lindberg, senior research associate at the nonprofit Guttmacher Institute.
Palin said when running for governor in 2006 that she would support funding for abstinence-only education in schools, according to Eagle Forum Alaska, a conservative group that sent a questionnaire asking gubernatorial candidates their views on a range of issues.
And although the money spent on abstinence will probably be wasted, it is only one-fifteenth of the total and if its failure is manifest, then there will be pressure for change.
He also said he opposes sex-ed programs in the nation's public schools that teach abstinence only, saying such programs only increase the number of abortions and unwanted children.
CNN: Carter again cites racism as factor in Obama's treatment
Abstinence only education relies too much on the fairy tale that all our hormone-addled teenagers and young adults have deep reserves of self discipline.
FORBES: Study Finds Majority of Young Evangelicals Have Premarital Sex
应用推荐