Statistically about 50% of teens are choosing to have sex. “I know more people who have had sex than who haven't, about 10% I'm not kidding who have not had sex,” says Halei Golden a 17 year old. 16 year old Taylor Liesmann says a lot of kids talk about it in the halls at school. “You'll be walking in the hallway at lunch or something and you'll hear people talking about it and some people are like yeah so and so hooked up the other night and did this.” And the age at which they decide to have sex seems to be getting younger. “The age is definitely younger than when I was coming up I'll say that typically we'll see sexual activity and experimentation as early as 4th and fifth grade,” says Deb Brittan, a sexual educator with Crisis Pregnancy Center. The big problem with teens having sex is that there are consequences beyond the fear of pregnancy. While that may be a teen's number one fear, they are 4 times more likely to contract a sexually transmitted disease than become pregnant. “Up to 75% of the time if you are infected with an STD you will not know it there won't be signs or symptoms,” says Brittan. Some STD’s like the most common one---human papilloma virus or HPV--can be spread through just sexual touching. That's why some teens like Halei Golden and Taylor Liesmann are choosing abstinence. “I don't want any diseases I don't want to deal with a big belly not now I just, there are so many consequences I have a reputation to uphold and a family who cares about me and I have friends who tell me all the time they admire me for making this decision,” says Golden. The Centers for Disease Control says there is no such thing as safe sex only "safer" sex with the use of condoms. The CDC says the surest way to prevent an STD is to practice sexual abstinence until marriage or in a faithful committed relationship. The key word is abstinence and what it really means different people. “No sex of any kind that can be regular sex or oral sex because it wouldn't be called sex unless it had sex in there, that's why it confuses me a lot of people say oral sex isn't sex well why does it have sex in the name,” says Liesmann. According to Brittan “When they hear abstinence they may think, ‘Oh I'm just going to preserve my virginity’ and often they define their virginity as actual intercourse, but of course we know that sexual activity can be oral through touching, and they are putting their lives at risk for the number one STD.” Faith based programs like True Love Waits and the "Silver Ring Thing" promote abstinence until marriage in a spiritual setting. Even though the programs are successful, Brittan feels they should be more comprehensive. “I feel they need more than scriptural foundation they need a knowledge base and the knowledge leads to a very clear abstinence until marriage solution” says Brittan. If you choose to talk to your children about sex, Brittan says there is a lot of misinformation out there, so it's important to make sure your teen has all the facts. Often times with accurate information, they choose to remain abstinent until marriage. Brittan says, “Our young people are intelligent. If they're given the facts they want to make healthy decisions. They don't want to end up with an STD or an unplanned pregnancy.