When the AIDS epidemic was recognized as a serious crisis that threatened the lives of the nation’s teenagers, some schools began offering free condoms to students to encourage them to protect themselves against the deadly virus and other sexually transmitted diseases. Many parents, religious and political leaders, and conservatives are adamantly opposed to the practice of giving condoms to students, however. They believe that students should be sexually abstinent until marriage; providing teens with condoms sends a message that adults do not really expect teens to remain abstinent, they argue. Gracie Hsu, a policy analyst with the Family Research Council, contends that not only do school-based contraceptive programs like the condom giveaway fail to reduce teen pregnancy and STDs, “but they are actually associated with an increase in sexual activity among participants.”

However, several studies published...