Amid news of the widespread failure of antisex education and virginity pledges to reduce sexual activity and pregnancies, recent discussions have asked whether “abstinence-only” advocacy actually forces more teen-agers and young adults to have abortions than would have been necessary with comprehensive sex education.

Having suffered spikes in youth sexual activity and unwanted pregnancies as a result of “abstinence only” programs, at least 15 states now refuse federal funding to pay for outside groups to teach “abstinence only” in school.

But hard research into any correlation between abstinence-only advocacy and abortion is still lacking.