Pills, shots, condoms, intrauterine devices, patches and rings -- oh, and abstinence.

While all of the above conspire against conception, researchers at the Guttmacher Institute in New York credit increased use of contraceptives -- not abstinence -- as mostly responsible for decreased teenage pregnancy rates.

From 1995 to 2002, pregnancy rates among 15- to 19-year-olds dropped 23.5 percent nationwide, said John Santelli, researcher at the Guttmacher Institute and Columbia University. Increased use of contraception is responsible for 86 percent of the drop, while abstinence is responsible for 14 percent, Santelli said.

Specifically, pregnancy rates among 15- to 17-year-olds dropped 35.5 percent nationwide, with increased use of birth control 77 percent responsible, Santelli said. Pregnancy rates among 18- to 19-year-olds dropped 17.3 percent nationwide with increased use of birth control 100 percent responsible, he added.

"Contraception has definitely decreased pregnancies in teenagers," said Robert Heinbach, chief of gynecology at University Health Services (UHS).

Pills are the No. 1 form of birth control at Penn State, Depo-Provera (a shot) is the No. 2 form and a combination of either pills or Depo-Provera and a condom is the No. 3 form.

More and more teenagers are choosing combinations of contraception because doing so "helps to prevent pregnancy even more," Heinbach said.

Implanon, a small, plastic rod inserted beneath the skin, is a form of birth control soon to be available in the Penn State proximity. Heinbach is in the process of choosing the first few women to start using the rod and training people at UHS and in the community to insert it, he said.

Implanon, which battles baby making for three years, should be available locally early next semester. It "has been used in more than 30 countries since 1998 by over 2.5 million women," Heinbach wrote in an e-mail.

If pills, shots, condoms or other form of birth control let a woman down, she can turn to Plan B, an emergency contraceptive effective 89 percent of the time, Heinbach said.

"We give out a significant amount of Plan B," Heinbach said.

Of course, an alternative to keeping the stork at a safe distance through birth control is by doing so through abstinence, although many abstain from abstinence.

"The No. 1 prevention of pregnancy is abstinence, but in reality, it doesn't seem to happen," Heinbach said.

With increased use of birth control mostly responsible for decreased teenage pregnancy rates, the Bush Administration's support of abstinence-only sex education is up for debate.

"It makes sense to give kids education about both of those [contraceptives and abstinence]," Santelli said.

Eliot Schmidt, College Democrats spokesman, added in an e-mail that "the U.S. Government should not continue with abstinence-only sex education. ... comprehensive sex education [CSE] should be adopted. CSE provides information on birth control, condoms and sexually transmitted diseases that young people need to know -- which is not being provided by abstinence-only education. Young people need to be presented with the facts -- all of them -- in order to make informed decisions about their lives and their bodies. Frankly, abstinence-only is an idealized program that ... is simply not realistic in today's culture."

Heinbach said he believes the Bush administration is trying to say that not everybody is having sex through its support of abstinence-only sex education. He added that he believes the administration is fighting an uphill battle against popular culture.

Todd Taylor, College Republicans president, added that the debate between comprehensive sex education and abstinence-only sex education boils down to whether or not the U.S. government should pay to supply teenagers with condoms. The idea is that by supporting CSE, the government would pay to supply teenagers with condoms, and therefore fund teenage promiscuity.

"The condoms don't change the culture, they continue it," Taylor said, echoing Heinbach.

While Taylor supports comprehensive sex education itself, he does not support Uncle Sam coughing up cash for condoms, and he does not believe the majority of the College Republicans would support CSE.

"I would think that the majority would continue supporting abstinence-only sex education," Taylor said.