"Freedom and Unity" certainly has a pleasant ring to it, but should Vermont care to update its state motto, "No glove, no love" will do in a pinch.
The state has ranked first in Trojan's first annual State by State Safer Sex Index. A subset of the Third Edition of the Sexual Health Rankings, the index scored each state based on two indicators: sexually transmitted diseases (the rate of diseases like syphilis, as well as the percentage of adults getting HIV testing) and contraception (including school sex-ed policies and teen birth rates). Lo and behold, Vermont is good at something besides making maple syrup.
In fact, safe sex practices seemed to be a priority throughout the Northeast. Maine and New Hampshire placed second and third, respectively, while New Jersey and Rhode Island came fifth and sixth. Hawaii took the fourth-place spot, with West Virginia, Washington, Idaho, and Oregon rounding out the top 10.
So, which states haven't been wrapping up like they should? They're mostly in the South. The bottom 10 states are as follows: Alabama, Alaska, Nevada, Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas, Florida, Mississippi, Georgia, and — falling dead last — Louisiana. Can we blame Mardi Gras, Vegas, and the Duggars for this?
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