Family Life

05.24.12 | Jeremy Miller

          An abstinence-based sex-education curriculum has been approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  Baptist Press says Heritage Keepers was found to be effective in delaying sexual initiation among youth.  The goal of Heritage Keepers is not only "to reduce the number of teens initiating sexual activity and increase the number of sexually active teens returning to abstinence," but also encourage students "to develop a strong sense of personal identity and worth, and set protective boundaries." Meanwhile, in a related story, the number of Americans who believe in being pro-choice is at an all time low.  A new Gallup poll released yesterday says only 41-percent of people identify themselves as pro-choice, while 50-percent say they are pro-life.  The pro-choice side is down from 47-percent last July and one-percentage point lower than the previous record.  The poll also shows a majority of Americans say some form of abortion should be legal in some circumstances, while only about 25-percent say it should be legal under all circumstances.  The Gallup poll was conducted earlier this month and was based on a sample of just over one-thousand adults with a margin of error of plus or minus four-percentage points. Recently, lawmakers fought over congressional funding for Planned Parenthood and the Obama administration and the Roman Catholic Church have been in a dispute over funding for health insurance which includes contraceptive services at church-related institutions.