• Causes PID (pelvic inflammatory disease) with double the risk of infertility as gonorrhea
• 75% of women with chlamydia PID will require some form of treatment if they desire fertility (surgery or in vitro fertilization is common)
• 20-40% of sexually active teens are infected
• Teens do not respond as well to antibiotic treatment for PID as adults. Those not responding to antibiotics may require removal of a tube, ovary, uterus, or all. For organs that remain, the scarring may leave a person with constant pelvic pain and infertility.

• Can rupture into tissues internally causing a fistula to the anus.
• May also cause major damage to the urethra.
• 12% of women with one episode of gonorrhea PID will be infertile.
• 25% of women with two episodes of gonorrhea PID will be infertile.
• 20% of gonorrhea strains are resistant to penicillin requiring expensive drugs and scarring while the correct drug is found.

• Kills 5000-6000 Americans each year
• Once passed on to a newborn, 70-90% become lifelong carriers who often develop cirrhosis and cancer.
• Is transmitted 8.6% more efficiently than HIV (among homosexual men)

• There is a 40-50% chance of becoming infected (5% chance if recurrent lesions are present)
• A herpes infected newborn has a 60% chance of death, and of those who survive, there is a 50% chance of severe brain damage.

• 1 in 4 newly infected persons infected with HIV is under age 22
• HIV/AIDS is a leading cause of death for people ages 25-44 in the USA
• the child of an HIV infected mother has a 1 in 3 chance of becoming infected if the mother is unaware of her condition and/or her condition is untreated; if infected, the child will rarely live to age 4.
• Kaposi's sarcoma - a cancer particularly prevalent among AIDS patients

• HPV causes Venereal Warts and Genital Cancer

For babies carried by untreated mothers:

• 20% miscarry or stillborn
• Of those alive at birth, 15% die within 2 months
• 33% of those who live will have permanent brain or body damage

• Teens make up less than 10% of the US population, but comprise 25% of the STD cases.
• The Cervix of a 20 year old. The soft, moist tissue, called ectropian, is present in adolescent women. The presence of ectropian increases the chances of STD infection in teenagers. As a woman ages, the ectropian will be replaced by mature epithelial cells, which are more resistant to infection.
• In the first two years of the menstrual cycle, 50% of periods are without ovulation. As a result, hormones cause the cervical mucus to be more permeable to germs.

• A sexually active 15 year old has a 1 in 8 chance of developing PID
• The adolescent with PID is much more difficult to treat.
• She has 14% chance of not responding well to antibiotics and requiring major surgery with removal of uterus, tubes, and ovaries.
• A higher number of STD episodes was significantly related to having a younger age of first intercourse.

• 9.3 - 18.1% of unmarried teens on oral contraceptives become pregnant in the first year of use.
• 93% of 1311 first time family planning clinic users chose the pill. Of those, only 3% also used condoms, putting them at risk for STDs.
• Oral contraceptives users have a 70% higher risk of chlamydia and gonorrhea than non-users
• The risk of severe PID was 22.4% for users of barrier contraceptives (condoms, diaphragms) compared with 25.9% for women who use no contraceptive technique

A study of inner city students revealed:

• 54% of those who use condoms use them only intermittently. For this group, the failure rate is 50-60% within a year (infection will occur).
• Only 17% of those who use condoms use them all the time. Failure rate with 100% usage is 8-9% within a year.

The risk of a married partner of an HIV positive spouse becoming HIV positive is 1 in 6, within 18 months, even with perfect condom use.

• Although syphilis is 100% susceptible to Penicillin, there is currently a 40-year high in the number of reported cases. There is still no vaccine for herpes after years of testing
• Zovirax, the drug to treat herpes, is very expensive at $2.50-$5.00/day, and will not prevent future outbreaks once the drug is stopped
• HIV - no cure
• Chlamydia and Gonorrhea are treated with antibiotics, yet scars remain, including infertility

• Risk of sexually transmitted diseases
• Risk of unplanned pregnancy
• Risk of emotional pain and scarred memories

1. What are my hopes, dreams, and goals for the future?
2. Do they include marriage and children?
3. Would I want to do everything I can to protect that marriage from failure?
4. How will my current sexual relationship affect my future marriage relationship?
5. How would choosing abstinence from now on affect me? Positively or negatively?
6. What would it take to abstain from sex?

Spiritually speaking, the ultimate relationship we can have is with God. Christians believe that this is only accomplished through a commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

After accepting our need for a savior and receiving Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives, then we can enjoy the most satisfying love relationship of all: with God, Himself. Our human relationships are then enhanced because God is part of them.