This past weekend, Congress approved a $30 million increase in federal funding for abstinence-only sex education programs in public schools.

There will always be a debate over abstinence programs and their potential to dramatically cut down on teenage sex. However, it should be obvious to most that teens are going to have sex regardless of what they learn about abstinence.

We don’t dispute that abstinence is the only completely foolproof method of preventing unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. However, James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, said it best: “The only 100 percent way to avoid a car collision is not to drive, but the federal government sure does a lot of advocacy for safety belts.”

Supporters of abstinence-only programs believe that if students are taught that sex isn’t acceptable until after marriage, they won’t engage in sexual behavior. However, just because you can’t see or hear something, doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Abstinence teachings ideally would reduce sex among teenagers, but you can’t ignore that premarital sex occurs. Also, the goal of combating premarital sex ignores LGBT youth who aren’t legally allowed to marry.

Let’s face it – teens don’t just learn about sex in the classroom. Eventually, they will find out about sex through the media or through their peers. By not teaching safe sex, educators only make the problem worse. If teens are going to have sex regardless of what they are told, it makes sense to teach them how to protect themselves. Otherwise, educators run the risk of increasing the number of unwanted pregnancies and STI infections.

Sixty-one percent of teens report having sex before finishing high school. What’s more, about 1 million teenage girls become pregnant each year. According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a sexual and reproductive health research group, 80 percent of the decline of national teen pregnancy from 1990 to 1999 was due to improved contraceptive use. Only 20 percent was attributable to increased teen abstinence.

Furthermore, independent researchers for the Department of Health and Human Services have said that there is no reliable evidence supporting the belief that abstinence-only programs reduce rates of teenage sex, pregnancies or STD infections.

Abstinence should still be taught in schools, but omitting any reference to safe sex is careless and ridiculous. By making sex forbidden, educators and administrators will just make sex more alluring to teens.