Just because sex is such a hot topic in today's world doesn't mean that everyone is "doing it." We bet that many high school students aren't - though they might be thinking, talking and even bragging about it. Here are some of the answers we got when we asked a group of students, "Why do you choose not to have sex?"

The fear of getting a sexually transmitted disease (STD) ranks foremost in my mind when I think of reasons not to have sex. We see it in movies, in health class. We hear stories about people who have just graduated from high school and now have HIV. Some of us even know these people first hand. With all these sources, it's been ground into my head how big of a problem STDs are, especially AIDS.

I'm not willing to chance death just yet. One mistake, one broken condom, one time with one person - it could happen to anyone. STDs don't discriminate. The scary thing is, so many people don't even know if they're infected and they could, unsuspectingly, be passing a disease around. You can't assume that they're clean, just because they're not showing any symptoms.

Just these possibilities make me worry about trusting someone. It's even possible to spread AIDS through oral sex, which opens the door even wider for contracting the virus. Judging from the information we have, the whole idea of sex seems really risky. Who wants to risk the ability to have children or even life itself just for the fun of sex? It doesn't sound like a good trade-off. I want to wait for the day when I find a completely faithful partner I can trust is not infected with an STD. And maybe that will be my partner for life. --Annice, 18

Recently I went to a first birthday party for my friend Beth's baby. The whole scene really upset me. I'm 18 and I've been to a baby shower, christening and now a first birthday party. Beth is living with her mom, she dropped out of school and now devotes her whole life to taking care of someone else. Her son David is beautiful, but he scares me. I guess that's one of the reasons I'm still a virgin. No contraception is absolutely foolproof. Beth and her boyfriend were using condoms and supposedly Beth was on the pill. And little David wasn't the first time she got pregnant, just the first time she decided to keep the baby.

Sometimes, looking at them, I feel old and left behind; Beth's a year younger than I am and she has a baby already. But I know I'm still young and I have plans for the future. I want to be a psychologist and I doubt that I'll make it if I have to take care of a baby. So rather than worry about the whole pregnancy and baby thing, I'm just not going to have sex for a good, long while. --Liz, 18

I'm sure sex is great and everything, but there's something about casual sex that makes me uneasy. I love myself and my body too much to just give it away to someone who wants to use it. Likewise, my guilty conscience keeps me from using someone else's body just to make myself feel good. It's true that sex is 100% natural, but I think it means much more. The purpose of our sex drive goes beyond reproduction and physical pleasure. Call me a romantic, but I'd rather think of sex as making love, which in turn produces an emotional bond which the two partners share and exclusively call their own.

If we don't take sex seriously, if we exploit it, sex is degraded; it becomes a casual habit rather than an expression of love. Although I'm not saying I'll definetly wait until marriage, I want to be very selective about giving myself to someone else. I want someone I truly love and who truly loves me. The thought of sex without love leaves me feeling cold and empty. --Judy, 18

For me the question is not, "Why abstain?", but rather "Why have sex?". I'll be ready to have sex when I can answer the question something like this: My partner and I have a monogamous relationship. Our feelings for each other run deep, and we have proven this fact. We share everything - hopes, dreams and sorrows. We listen to each other. We accept our differences. Spending a good part of our lives together is not hard to imagine. We are totally comfortable with our bodies, leaving no reason to hide, keep the lights off or get drunk before doing it. We can deal with the physical aspects of sex. We talk often about the possible consequences. We are ready to share something private and special with each other. --Camilla, 18

My friends who have sex all seem to enjoy it, and I'm sure I would too. It's just that at this point in my life, it's easier not to have sex. A very close friend of mine just went through hell ending a relationship because they had been having sex, and while emotionally the relationship wasn't working out, the sexual aspect made it much harder to end it. I don't like that idea, that having sex with someone brings so much more responsibility to the relationship, so much more commitment. I'm 17. I'm not ready for that kind of commitment.

There's another reason. I've never dated anyone that I would want to have sex with. At the time I may not have thought so, but looking back it's very true. The first time is something that should be special in some way; it's something that I'm going to want to remember. I don't want to look back and say to myself, "I can't believe I lost my virginity to him!" --Susan, 17