27% of 13-16 year-olds have had some form of sexual intimacy;

Abstinence-only education programs

Nearly 46% of high school students said they've have sexual intercourse.

- 2001 survey, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The data was drawn from the ongoing National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and the responses of nearly 21,000 teens, as young as seventh-graders, collected in the mid-1990s (the most current data of its kind in the survey).

Births in 2001 4,025,933

%age of births born prematurely (< 37 weeks) 12% = highest level since records tracked 20 years ago

% of women who got timely prenatal care: 83% versus 76% in 1990

% of Black and Hispanic women who got timely prenatal care: 75% versus 60% in 1985

Teenage birth rate: 45.8 for every 1,000 women aged 15-19 = record low

Teenage abortion rate: Also record low

Median age of mother: 24.8 versus 22.1 years in 1970

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, CNN

Percentage of students who have had sex, 2001:

White 43%

Black 61%

Hispanic 48%

Total 46%

By grade:

9th 34%

10th 41%

11th 52%

12th 61%

 · By 81 percent to 16 percent, these parents and guardians favor sex education programs that teach young people about all aspects of sex and sexuality - including how to use birth control to prevent unintended pregnancy and how to protect against STDs - over programs that focus solely on abstinence-only-until-marriage and the dangers of sex.

· All parents agree across ethnicities that a comprehensive approach is preferable to one that only instructs about the dangers of sex and postponing sex until marriage - African American (85% vs. 13%), White (80% vs. 16%), and Hispanic (80% vs. 18%).

"Parents and guardians at lower income levels and across ethnicities want their kids to receive a comprehensive approach to sex education that includes information about contraception and condoms to prevent unintended pregnancy and the spread of STDs, as well as about abstinence," said Tamara Kreinin, president and CEO of SIECUS"This poll demonstrates that the proliferation of unproven abstinence-only-until-marriage programs across the nation is completely out of step with the parents and guardians of our nation's most vulnerable young people," Kreinin continued.

Furthermore, the poll found that while parents recognize the central role they play in teaching their children about sex and sexuality, including relationships and becoming sexually active, how to prevent pregnancy, HIV/AIDS and other STDs, as well as how to say no to sex, they are not talking to their kids about these critical issues. Specifically, the poll found:

· Parents and guardians are in near universal agreement that it is important to discuss with their children not just the basic facts about reproduction, but also issues about relationships and becoming sexually active (96%), how to prevent pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and other STDs (99%), as well as abstinence and how to say no to sex (97%).

· Over four in 10 (43%) parents of 9 and 10 year olds have not discussed the basic facts about reproduction with their child. Even those with teenagers have not tackled some vital topics. Two in ten (20%) parents with 13 and 14 year olds and one in ten (11%) parents of kids age 15 to 18 admit they have not discussed issues about relationships and becoming sexually active with their child.