Breathtaking logic

From an opinion piece in The News & Observer about the failure of abstinence-only education:

"The believers [abstinence education proponents] continue to insist abstinence is the only 100 percent sure way to prevent pregnancy and disease. But 95 percent of Americans have sex before marriage. In real life that's a 95 percent failure rate."

This paragraph is strikingly illogical and it was written by a celebrated female columnist. The writer is essentially saying that because 95 percent of Americans have sex before marriage that abstinence fails to prevent pregnancy and disease. The failure of Americans to practice abstinence is a failure of the abstinence education, some would argue. But I don't think anyone can successfully argue that abstinence can ever fail to prevent disease and pregnancy.

You can't accidentally get pregnant or accidentally get a sexually transmitted disease if you don't have sex. And to date, there's been only one virgin birth and some would even debate that.