Each year, U.S. teens experience as many as 850,000 pregnancies, and youth under age 25 experience about 9.1 million sexually transmitted infections. By age 18, 70 percent of U.S. females and 62 percent of U.S. males have initiated vaginal sex (McKeon). Comprehensive sex education is effective at assisting young people to make healthy decisions about sex and to adopt healthy sexual behaviors. No abstinence-only-until-marriage program has been shown to help teens delay the initiation of sex or to protect themselves when they do initiate sex. (McKeon). That’s why safe sex should be taught to teenagers at school because of the rising STDs and pregnancies rates.
Parents have fought the school board to eliminate all acts of sex education from their children. During the 2001 period parents were debating about taking it to a further extent. Court was the only option they had in mind and the author said that abstinence programs can be defeated in the courts because they violate the First Amendment 's prohibition on laws "respecting an establishment of religion. They came to an agreement that the course should include detailed information on birth control and disease prevention. This is where the battle over abstinence sex education is about those who favor a more liberal approach towards sex education. Being open-minded or tolerant towards the situation is a progress towards less unplanned pregnancy and minimizes the group of people with STDs (Elvin 34).
Safe sex and abstinence is a self-choice, both topics should be discussed to educate students for further decisions in life, but which one is the better choices safe sex or abstinence only education? According to Columbia University researchers, virginity pledge programs increase pledge-takers’ risk for STIs and pregnancy. The study concluded that 88 percent of pledge-takers initiated sex prior to marriage even though some delayed sex for a while. Rates of STIs among pledge-takers and non-pledgers were similar, even though pledge-takers initiated sex later. Pledge-takers were less likely to seek STI testing and less likely to use contraception when they did have sex. (“Effective Sex Education”) While safe sex teaches teenagers how to protect themselves from diseases and pregnancy.
Safe sex education is the process of acquiring information about sex. It is also about developing skills necessary to make informed choices and appropriate decisions. Evaluations of comprehensive sex education and HIV/ STI prevention programs show that they do not increase rates of sexual initiation, do not lower the age at which youth initiate sex, and do not increase the frequency of sex or the number of sex partners among sexually active youth (McKeon). Between 1991 and 2004, the U.S. teen birth rate fell from 62 to 41per 1,000 female teens. Some experts attribute 75 percent of the decline to increased contraceptive use and 25 percent to delayed initiation of sex (McKeon). Regardless, safe sex aims to reduce the risk of potentially negative outcomes from sexual behavior, such as unwanted or unplanned pregnancies and infection with sexually transmitted diseases while abstinence does not.
School in the United States debate on two kinds of sex education programs: abstinence as well as comprehensive sex education. Abstinence sex education programs focus on abstinence as for teenagers and young adults and emphasize the benefits of refraining from intercourse. Analysis of data from Youth Risk Behavior surveys found that sexual activity among high school youth declined significantly from 1991 to 1997, prior to large-scale funding of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, but changed little from 1999 to 2003 with federal funding of such programs.(McKeon). Which mean that’s it is not working. Comprehensive sex education combines information about abstinence with information on condoms and information about sexually transmitted diseases (Flynn 1), while comprehensive sex is working on preventing pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.
In Fig 1, it clearly shows that safe sex is more helpful then abstinence only. Some reasons why safe sex is a better choice than abstinence only education are because abstinence sex education programs focus on abstinence for teens and young adults and emphasize the benefits of refraining from intercourse analysis of data from Youth Risk Behavior surveys found that sexual activity among high school youth declined significantly from 1991 to 1997, prior to large-scale funding of abstinence only until marriage programs, but changed little from 1999 to 2003 with federal funding of such programs. Which means it is not working. While in the other hand there is comprehensive sex education combines information about abstinence with information on condoms and information about sexually transmitted diseases. Which is why comprehensive sex is a better choice than abstinence only sex, another reason is that abstinence only teaches teens not to have sex but safe sex teaches teens how to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases also help teens better understand their bodies.
According to US Representative, Barbara Lee, Comprehensive sex education programs are successful at reducing behavior that put young people at risk. (qtd. in “Real Education for Healthy Youth Act”) Adults supported sex education that includes information about both abstinence and also contraception and condoms. In fact, 89 percent believed that it is important for young people to have information about contraception and prevention of STIs and that sex education should focus on how to avoid unintended pregnancy and STIs, including HIV in another recent survey, 94 percent of adults and 93 percent of parents said that sex education should cover contraception. Only 15 percent of Americans wanted abstinence-only education taught in the classroom.(McKeon) This states the obvious that safe sex is a way better choice then abstinence only education.
Keep in mind that safe sex is the better choice because it aims to reduce the risk of potentially negative outcomes from sexual behavior, such as unwanted or unplanned pregnancies and infection with sexually transmitted diseases while abstinences does not.it also is about developing skills necessary to make informed choices and appropriate decision. Also keep in mind that abstinence only education only teaches students to abstain from all sexual acts until marriage it does not teach about pregnancy or the different types of sexually transmitted diseases. Many teenagers and young adults are not prepared for sex; Sex is a responsibility which can affect one’s health. That’s why safe sex should be taught to teenagers at school because of the rising STDs and pregnancies rates.
Word Cited
Crabtree, Steven “Teen on Sex Education: Abstinence-Only or Safe sex Appoach.”Gallup.2005. JPEG. 07 June 2012.
“Effective Sex Education.” Advocates for Youth. 2006. Web. 06 June 2012
Elvin, John. “Liberals Itching to Take Abstinence-Only Courses to Court.” NC Live (2001): Vol. 17 Issue 1, P.34.
Flynn, Simone. “Sex Education in Schools.” NC Live (2011): p1-1, 1p. Web.
McKeon, Brigid “Effective Sex Education.” Advocates for Youth. 2006. Web. 06 June 2012.
No Time to Lose: Getting More from HIV Prevention. Committee on HIV Prevention Strategies in the United States, Institute of Medicine. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2000. Web. 06 June 2012. “Real Education for Healthy Youth Act.” Siecus. 2011. Web. 06 June 2012.
Cited: Crabtree, Steven “Teen on Sex Education: Abstinence-Only or Safe sex Appoach.”Gallup.2005. JPEG. 07 June 2012. “Effective Sex Education.” Advocates for Youth. 2006. Web. 06 June 2012 Elvin, John. “Liberals Itching to Take Abstinence-Only Courses to Court.” NC Live (2001): Vol. 17 Issue 1, P.34. Flynn, Simone. “Sex Education in Schools.” NC Live (2011): p1-1, 1p. Web. McKeon, Brigid “Effective Sex Education.” Advocates for Youth. 2006. Web. 06 June 2012. No Time to Lose: Getting More from HIV Prevention. Committee on HIV Prevention Strategies in the United States, Institute of Medicine. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2000. Web. 06 June 2012. “Real Education for Healthy Youth Act.” Siecus. 2011. Web. 06 June 2012.
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