Condoms In High Schools

Allowing condoms to be distributed in public schools has had much controversy over the years. Many people learn about safe sex, but there are still many unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases floating around. Some schools across the United States have made it to where students are given condoms in school. On top of other alternatives, such condom distribution programs should be allowed or promoted in public schools to help reduce teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.

Condoms should be given to middle schoolers because this access does not encourage them to have more sex at a younger age, it makes them more aware. Peaking in the early 1990s, teen pregnancy rates have declined 51 percent and teen births are down 61 percent, said Bill Albert of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancies. Many schools say that their kids participated in surveys to see if they have been sexually active during their middle school years. In the article by Larsen-Fleming, it pointed out that 8.5 percent of Oakland’s Unified seventh-graders

Some high schools in large cities do distribute condoms to their students, just as many colleges all over the United States. Yet this should not be limited solely to college students and inner city high school students.

Many pregnant teenage girls grow up to be poor or jobless and this is not an option for schools to give to students. The condom effectiveness is 14 to 15 girls

Public schools are attempting to teach birth control in their curriculum, but is it encouraging more teens to start being sexually active? “Studies show that 39% of schools teach how to use a condom; 58% of schools are encouraging their kids to wait, but they urge them to use birth control if they do have sex.“(Nicole De Coursey, Jennifer Hoppe, Amy Sims, and Caroline Sorgen) Most U.S. public school districts require the education about sex in class but not enough schools do not provide abstinence teaching programs. Abstinence messages are very important, but clearly the coverage of contraceptive topics is also crucial in helping our youth prevent unplanned pregnancy and STD’s. “One-third of teachers indicated that they had to be careful about what they taught because of the possibility of a bad community reaction.”(USA Today). Birth control was taught a lot more back in the 1980’s than it is compared to now. “Six in ten of teachers

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

First, I would like to bring up one of the alternatives to the condom dispensers. This would be awareness training for the AIDS crisis. I think that my fellow students should be given all of the facts about this disease and how it affects them. To place a condom dispenser in the restrooms is just applying a band aid to a bad wound, but it doesn’t address the real issue. Most college students suffer from what I like to refer to as the invincibility factor. They are young and feel like that would never happen to them. We need to provide statistics and real world stories that the students can identify with. An example of this would be the statistics from 2009 where 39% of all new HIV infections in the U.S occurred in people between the ages of 13-29. That same age group only made up 21% of the U.S. population. Students need to know that they need to really examine the situation and there partner. There was a story in the news recently about a young man who knowingly infected over 30 individuals and

require an inclusive health education and studies have shown that their curriculum works. Studies have shown that an inclusive health curriculum can delay the “onset of sexual activity, reduce the frequency of sexual activity, reduce the number of sexual partners, and increase condom and contraceptive use” (Advocates for Youth). In a study by Douglas Kirby for the National Campaign to End Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, he discovered that two-thirds of the 48 comprehensive sex ed programs studied had positive effects (Advocates for Youth). “40 percent [of programs] delayed sexual initiation, reduced the number of sexual partners, or increased condom or contraceptive use. 30 percent reduced the frequency of sex, including a return to abstinence and 60 percent reduced unprotected sex.”, according to the study. Another study by Advocates for Youth evaluated 26 effective programs, 23 of which included comprehensive sex education. Their findings are as follows: “14 programs demonstrated a statistically significant delay in the timing of first sex. 13 programs showed statistically significant declines in teen pregnancy, HIV, or other STIs. 14 programs helped sexually active youth to increase their use of condoms. 9 programs demonstrated success at increasing use of contraception other than condoms. 13 programs showed reductions in the number of sex partners and/or increased monogamy among program participants. 10 programs helped sexually active youth to reduce the incidence of unprotected sex”. With the significant amount of success these programs have had, it is safe to implement a similar one in

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

Low-income students are another group of students that sexual education programs need to cater to. According to Schalet et al., (2014), low-income students make up a large proportion of public school students in the United States, as one in six of students in public schools lives in poverty. This population of students also represents a disproportionate amount of the teenage birth and STD rates (p. 1602). Due to the large amount of low-income students, and this population's tendency to experience pregnancy or STDs, it is crucial that sexual education programs address low-income students in order to reduce the rate of teenage pregnancy and STDs.

America’s youth has always been, and will always be sexually active. Students need to be taught about sexual risks such as STI’s and unplanned pregnancies as well as how to counter those risks by correctly using condoms and birth control. Teenagers aged 15-19 who received comprehensive sex education had pregnancy rates 50% lower than teenagers who received abstinence only education (Kohler, et al. 348). By dispelling rumors and providing up to date information, society is arming its youth with the ability to make the safer and healthier choices. Also, teaching safe sex at school does not mean different moral values cannot be instilled at home or in places of worship. Parents and religious leaders can still encourage teenagers to practice abstinence only. Sexual education should be a dual effort between parents and teachers. If society does not ensure its youth has a comprehensive sexual education, then it is setting them up for

In this day in time it is not an uncommon sight in my school to see a young girl with a baby bump. Or when you hear of that someone has contracted an STD it is not that surprising. My mom speaks of a time when someone contracted a STD it was handled like a death sentence. Also whenever a young girl became pregnant after she started “showing” you would not see her until after the baby was delivered. I believe that there are countless factors to why many teens in my Community are more vulnerable to having risky sex, such as the media, lack of activities and peer pressure. I believe that since most teens between the ages of 13-18 are in school for eight hours out of the day five day a week and many parents are at work when they arrive home until late at night that this issue could be addressed at school. So I believe that schools should pass out condoms to high school students.

Thesis Statement: Condoms and contraceptives should be freely given to high school students because of its effectiveness against the risks they face caused by their sexual lifestyle of today.

   The topic of condom distribution in public schools has caused many heated debates throughout our country in the last decade. Proponents of distribution state that free condom distribution will ensure that teenagers will practice safe sex and that the rate of sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy will decline. Opponents of distribution state that free condom distribution will encourage sexual activity and foster the idea that premarital sex is acceptable. Judges in federal court have even considered whether or not condom distribution and sex education without prior parental notification violates parents' First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The only viewpoint absent in a discussion of this

Students that are sexually active need to have access to condoms to protect themselves against sexually transmitted diseases. Teens have problems with birth control for several reasons, and because of this lack of birth control teens are more susceptible to pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.