Detroit — Preventing pregnancy isn’t the only reason teens should remain chaste until marriage, nationally known abstinence educator Pam Stenzel says.

“One in three teens today is infected with a sexually transmitted disease,” says Stenzel, a member of Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Wayzata, Minn.

Hear her Who: Pam Stenzel, nationally known abstinence educator When: Thursday, March 3, 7 p.m. Where: Mercy High School Auditorium, 29300 W. Eleven Mile Road, Farmington Hills How: Admission is free of charge, but tickets are required. Register on-line at AWPC-MI.org (tickets can be printed out following registration). For information: (248) 471- 5858.

She will be bringing her abstinence message to the metro Detroit area on Thursday, March 3, when she speaks at Mercy High School Auditorium in Farmington Hills. Her visit is sponsored by Another Way Pregnancy Center in Farmington.

Surveys that show increasing numbers of teen-agers think oral sex “isn’t really sex” reflect widespread misunderstanding of the actual risks of pre-marital sexual activity, in Stenzel’s view.

“You cannot just tell kids to not have sex, it has to be defined. Any type of sexual contact can transmit disease. Teens’ worst fear is pregnancy, but there are a lot of worse things that can happen to you than getting pregnant,” she says.

For girls, Stenzel notes that those risks include contracting an STD that will prevent them from having children later when they marry.

“Out of the 30 major STDs, 26 primarily damage women,” she says.

But even if boys are spared many of the consequences of STDs, those that remain can be tragic. “I ask them, ‘When you do get married, how would you like to think that you gave your wife an STD that prevented you from having children, and all because you wanted to have some fun on prom night when you were in high school?’” she says.

Stenzel says she hopes her March 3 audience will include both teens and their parents: “Parents need the verbiage to have this discussion with their kids. Half of the battle is to get the parents educated.”

Stenzel does abstinence education in both religious and public schools, but says she prefers the Church-sponsored environment, because she can bring God into it – not only to talk about moral teachings, but also the blessings of repentance and reconciliation.

“I try to help them see that God’s law is not about being mean and wrecking their fun, it’s about giving us our best,” she says.

As to when is the right time for abstinence education, Stenzel says the answer is just prior to puberty, which varies from child to child, but usually comes earlier for girls than for boys.