Brains, teens and casual sex -- neuroscience research provides evidence for marriage and abstinence.

The social Left and it's push for contraceptives in our schools and everywhere else in society is motivated by a desire to enable people to be sexually active whenever they want without suffering the negative consequences of sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancies. The proverbial - having one's cake and eating it too.

Those of us on the other side argue sex isn't a leisure activity but something with profound personal, moral, social and spiritual consequences. The purpose of sex as established by the Creator is continuing the human race and the bonding of a man and a woman in a lifelong, faithful relationship for their benefit and that of others. The Left views this as an antiquated, prudish perspective and irrelevant in today's social and moral ethos.

The problem which suggests that this traditional view of sex isn't outdated but in fact very relevant is the epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases which lead to other diseases, like infertility and cancer, and out of wedlock births . None of which have been eliminated by condoms and other contraceptives.

Now there's evidence coming out of neuroscience buttressing the traditional views of marriage and abstinence. It's written up in a new book entitled, “Hooked: New Science on How Casual Sex is Affecting our Children”, coauthored by Drs. Joe McIlhaney, Jr. and Freda McKissic Bush. It highlights “the impact having sex has on the developing brains of adolescents and young adults.”

The book states that:

• “Sexual activity releases chemicals in the brain, creating emotional bonds between partners.
• “Breaking these bonds can cause depression and make it harder to bond with someone else in the future.
  
• “Chemicals released in the brain during sex can become addictive.
• “The human brain is not fully developed until a person reaches their mid-twenties. Until then, it is harder to make wise relationship decisions.”

This new evidence is significant in that condoms and contraceptives can do nothing to prevent the emotional damage resulting from casual sex. There is no alternative other than exercising self control and waiting until marriage.

This new evidence also challenges the assumptions undergirding condom education in our schools that all we have to do is provide students with all the information and they'll make good decisions. The fact that the brain isn't fully developed in the teenage years suggests that's not the case from a biological standpoint.