Eighty-three percent of U.S. teenagers did not receive any sex education before they first had sex, according to a new federal report that argues for starting sex education earlier.
The report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in Atlanta, notes that 27 percent of 15- to 17-year-olds report having had sexual intercourse. A quarter of teenagers who give birth are between ages 15 and 17. Only 38 percent of teenagers who give birth at age 17 or younger go on to earn their high school diplomas by age 22, compared with 60 percent of older teenage mothers, according to the CDC.
