Abstinence Only Education Essay

Studies have also shown that abstinence-focused programs have failed to reduce STI rates. The American Sexual Health Association states, “More than half of all people will have an STD/STI at some point in their lifetime,” (“Statistics”). Comprehensive sex education would teach teenagers how to improve their sexual health, prevent unwanted pregnancies, and prevent sexually transmitted diseases and infections. Providing students with this information does not encourage them to participate in sexual activity sooner. Several findings show that, “[Comprehensive sex education] effectively promotes abstinence and may delay sexual debut, reduce sexual frequency, reduce the number of sexual partners, reduce STI risk, and increase the likelihood of consistent contraceptive use,” (Jeffries 173). Comprehensive sex education will be beneficial to students by teaching them how to have sexual intercourse safely, if they choose to not remain abstinent.

We have all heard the stories about the rise in teenage pregnancies, girls dropping out of school to care for their newborns, and even those who get pregnant on purpose. This new trend is everywhere. Most parents fail to have the “talk” with their children and are left without the proper education regarding sex until its too late. With the current rates of teenage pregnancy correlated with the current rates of spreading epidemics of STD’s and HIV/AIDS, steps should be taken in an effort to aid the situation. Schools are a main source of information and education for teens, and are in a unique position that can provide adolescents with knowledgeable skills and understanding that promote sexual health. With consistent speculation surrounding

Since the HIV/AIDS epidemic began in the U.S. in the early 1980s the issue of sex education for American youth has had the attention of the nation. There are about 400,000 teen births every year in the U.S, with about 9 billion in associated public costs. STI contraction in general, as well as teen pregnancy, have put the subject even more so on the forefront of the nation’s leading issues. The approach and method for proper and effective sex education has been hotly debated. Some believe that teaching abstinence-only until marriage is the best method while others believe that a more comprehensive approach, which includes abstinence promotion as well as contraceptive information, is necessary. Abstinence-only program curriculums disregard

The U.S. has the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancies of any industrialized nation that put young teenagers at risks. It is estimate that 20,000 new cases of sexually transmitted diseases reported each year comes from people under the age of 25 and 82 percent of all teen pregnancies are accidents that account for one-fifth of all unintended pregnancies annually (CDC 2006). As a result, the government needs to stop funding and promoting abstinence only programs and start focusing on comprehensive sex education. Comprehensive sexuality education according to Sexuality Information and Education Council of the US (SIECUS) provides a complete message by teaching age appropriate and medically accurate information

Long before the development of iconic male-dominated American culture, the ideals of a patriarchal society have been implemented within the foundations of multiple civilizations, serving to dictate the actions of its individuals under the black-and-white confines of social constructions like gender roles, gender binary, sex roles, and many other aspects of everyday life that are still present at this very moment. One of the most crucial elements of contemporary American society that these limiting patriarchal values have latched onto is the comprehensive sexual education of it's youth. Undoubtedly, those who need it most are almost always doomed to receive the short-end of the stick with the introduction of Abstinence-Only education—a method that has been consistently proven to embed misogynistic and gender-discriminatory ideals within its shame-based and fear-centered curriculum, in addition to being profoundly ineffective in preventing the negative aspects that go along with unsafe sexual activity; much less effective than it's counterpart, Comprehensive Sexual Education. This unbiased, fact-based, and health-focused method of sex-ed serves to inform students about a number of topics in an age-appropriate context, allowing them to make choices they are comfortable and familiar with when it comes to a time they feel they are ready to make them, regardless of what sex, gender, or orientation they happen to identify with.

Should schools only teach abstinence or is comprehensive sex education safer for teens? Many find that teaching abstinence is the only way to ensure students safety when it comes to sexual behavior. But, “A review of 35 school-based sex education programs found that abstinence based programs had no significant effect on delaying sexual debut, while some comprehensive programs were effective in reducing certain sexual risk behaviors” (Kirby and Coyle). Along with research showing the ineffectiveness of abstinence programs, “Critics of abstinence-only education claim that it violates human rights by withholding potentially life-saving information from people about other means to protect themselves from HIV, such as condom use” (Plos one). Comprehensive

The most common argument against comprehensive sexual education is that it encourages students to have sex. That’s completely false,

Sexual education in public schools is one of the most controversial issues in education. In today’s society, it is almost impossible to ignore the responsibility of informing adolescence about the issues of sex. Since the lack of knowledge, leads to an array of issues ranging from teen pregnancy to sexually transmitted diseases. The debate over whether to implement sex education in American schools has ended. The question is whether comprehensive sex education classes are more impressionable than those stressing abstinence only.

Current programs have been successful in lowering the teenage birth rates from their 1991 rates to their current rates, a difference of more than 50 percent. While the STD rates in the United States have not improved, they have ceased to increase in recent years (Satcher, Carmona & Elders, 2015). Sexual education programs differ in what information the program covers, who teaches the class, and how relevant the material is to a diverse student body. In order for a sexual education program to be successful in reducing teenage pregnancy and STD rates, the United States needs to ensure that schools are offering comprehensive sexual education classes that incorporate information on contraceptives and condom usage, are facilitated by both trained and qualified teachers and health professionals, and are tailored to a diverse student

Sexuality is one of the most powerful and universal forces for human-kind. Whether before or after marriage, everyone engages in it at one point in their lives. Unlike calculus, sex education is something you are going to use in the future. When I took a class survey, most of you either agreed or strongly agreed that sex education was important for teens to learn about. However, many people in America, specifically parents, believe that sex education should not be taught in schools and boycott any measures to educate teens. These people have led me to create this speech. I am up here today to persuade the audience that a fundamental lack of comprehensive sex education can lead misinformation, teen pregnancies, and negative views about sex.

Abstinence only education consists of teaching students that not having sex prevents pregnancy, STDs, and HIV. That adolescences should resist the compulsion to have sex until the person is capable to handle the responsibility of having sex. Studies have taken place to see the effectiveness of abstinence only sex education. This study was conducted on 662 African American students that were in 6th and 7th grade. They researchers chose African American students because in the United States HIV is most prevalent in black adolescences. These African American students are from low income communities in the northeastern part of America. This experiment was extremely organized on how the instructors were supposed to teach the students, all the way down to the games that were played with the students. However, the study did not expose sex in a disapproving way. Instead the information on sex was merely untouched. Students could make up their own beliefs on sex, they were only taught that abstinence was the best policy to live by. Before the classes started the students took a survey so that the researchers would have a baseline for their data. Procedures were taken to ensure that the students answered all questions honestly. After the classes were given to the students, two years later there was a follow up survey given to the students. The results of the survey were very

It also teaches interpersonal and communication skills and helps young people explore their own values, goals, and options (Advocates for Youth, 2001). This method shows various ways to prevent unplanned pregnancies and ways to avoid STD’s unlike the abstinence-only education programs. Abstinence-only method finds faults within the contraceptives, which then pushes those faults into the children. This approach instills fear into children so they see all of the bad that comes with sex before marriage. Now comprehensive sex education provides values-based education and offers students the opportunity to explore and define their individual values as well as the values of their families and communities, and includes a wide variety of sexuality related topics, such as human development, relationships, interpersonal skills, sexual expression, sexual health, and society and culture (Advocates for Youth, 2001). In addition, it includes accurate, factual information on abortion, masturbation, and sexual orientation, provides positive messages about sexuality and sexual expression, including the benefits of abstinence and teaches that proper use of latex condoms, along with water-based lubricants, can greatly reduce, but not eliminate, the

Sexual education programs taught in high schools nationwide would be much more effective if instead of focusing exclusively on abstinence only programs, they taught a much more comprehensive program, which informed the adolescents how to be safe when it comes to dealing with sexual activities. Abstinence only programs are the widely favored programs of the past and of present time, but now more and more adults are starting to believe their children would be better educated if they were involved in a more comprehensive program, that not only emphasized the teachings of abstinence but taught their children how to be safe, and how to deal with the consequences of their sexual

“Teaching only about abstinence is like teaching ‘a driver 's education course in which teachers show students grisly photos of traffic accidents but never tell them to stop at red lights or buckle their seat belts’" (Wagle). Sex education is often a hot topic of debate within the States, where high school teens often receive some form of sexual education. However, the quality of this information varies from state to state and even district to district. Although there are many different definitions, the one being applied here is that abstinence-based curriculum teaches that the only truly effective way to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, and other sex related risks is by not having sex. This includes severely limited or no information about contraceptives or ways to lessen the spread of disease. On the other hand, comprehensive sexual education includes information not found in abstinence curriculum and resources about STDs and prevention, various contraceptive methods, healthy relationships and rape, and are inclusive towards queer and trans experiences. Sex ed is an important part of education, and a comprehensive sexual education is critical in both reducing teenage pregnancies and STDs and promoting health and good choices.

When adolescents feel distinct to family, relatives, and school, they could turn into complex activities that put their wellbeing at risk. On the other hand, when parents establish the value of their children, young people more frequently increase positive, healthful thoughts about themselves. Even though most adults desire youth to identify about abstinence, contraception, and how to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), parents regularly have difficulty communicating about sex. However, constructive communication among parents and children really helps young people to create individual principles and to make strong choices.