What does stress abstinence mean?
N.J.S.A. 18A:35-4.19 et seq., the AIDS Prevention Act of 1999, is commonly referred to as the stress abstinence law. The law requires school-based programs and materials to emphasize that abstinence from sexual activity is the one completely reliable means of eliminating the sexual transmission of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases and of avoiding pregnancy. The law requires local boards of education to include in their curriculum the reasons, skills, and strategies for remaining or becoming abstinent. It also requires that any instruction on methods of contraception, including the use of condoms, contain information on their failure rates in actual use. The law also requires that materials stress the importance of avoiding intravenous (needle injection) drug use as a method of HIV prevention.
