Safe Sex Vs. No Sex

Comprehensive education teaches students about contraception, including emergency contraception, reproductive choices, LGBT issues, anatomy, and other traditional topics, including abstinence, as part of the curriculum, because of this comprehensive education is referred to by some as abstinence plus. (“Comprehensive Sex Education vs. Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage-Programs”) Comprehensive education focuses on giving student options on how to manage if they do choose to have sex. As the average age at which Americans start having sex drops, teaching students about how to prevent or deal with sexually transmitted diseases and avoid unplanned pregnancy becomes increasingly important. (“Sex Education Promotes Understanding and Safety”) 34% of sexually active students said they didn’t use a condom the last time they had sex, which is what increases the odds of getting an STD or becoming

Sexual education in schools has become a highly controversial topic over the past few years. Some people believe students should be taught abstinence-only education, while others believe students need the full on “sex talk”. While the sex education controversy may seem silly, it is very important that students receive the most efficient education possible. When it comes to education parents want their children to receive the most effective kind. This is also very true in terms of sex education. Sex education is very debatable right now as to whether students should be taught abstinence-only education or comprehensive sex education.

Our generation of teens has become too prone of sexual activity with less worry of the consequences it comes along with. Most teenagers, ages 15 through 19, are sexually active, approximately 30 percent being of the ages 15 and 16. Many young teens have not been exposed to all the repercussions, such as risk of pregnancy and STDs, that sex can result in. Our schools need to provide better sex education courses and require students to receive credit in them.

Today, it is most common that conservative and religious families practice and teach abstinence more than families who are not religious (WebMD). School systems have always believed that the biggest contraceptive is abstinence, which is why they have been so consistent with that approach for so many years. “"Schools teach 'no smoking' and 'no drinking.' They don't say 'if you smoke, use a filter' or 'if you drink and drive, wear your safety belt.' Why should sex be treated differently?", said Peter Brandt, President of the National Coalition for Abstinence Education in Colorado Springs. It is imperative that school systems continue teaching abstinence but also inform students on the potential health risks of sex and how to prevent

While the department of education does include a recommendation for school districts to develop and implement age-appropriate sex education, it’s not mandated in many states. There is confusion among teenagers about the different methods they can use to protect themselves; for example, contraceptives (such as birth control) do not prevent STI’s, but do prevent pregnancies. In fact, almost 37% of "18-25 year olds incorrectly believe at least one of the following: transmission of HIV is possible by sharing a glass, kissing, or touching a toilet seat" (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation 2006). Without the proper knowledge, teens simply cannot be expected to act accordingly. Abstinence-only education gives students an incomplete education, and expects students to disregard the gaps in teachings. This isn't just unfair; it is dangerous. In a study performed by the American Journal of Public Health involving 4,000 teens over a period of seven years, they found that adolescents who used condoms during their first intercourse had on average the same number of partners as those who did not use a condom. However, the former group was 30 percent more likely to have used condoms in their most recent sexual encounter,

Many advocates for abstinence-only education believe that its message is strongly intertwined with traditional values and religious faith; both of which they claim to have measurable influence in preventing teens from having sex (Collins, Alagira, and Summers 12-13). Christian conservative women believe that comprehensive sex education would encourage sexual activity and lesbianism, as well as undercut marriage and create social decay (Fields 24).

I believe that all schools should teach an inclusive form of sexual education. I believe that teaching abstinence is not working in the slightest because the rate of teenagers who are sexually active is gradually increasing. Since the fact is that teens are participating in sexual intercourse, we need to teach them how to have sex safely. Schools need to teach a form of sexual education that will fully cover how to prevent teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and infections, because the abstinence-only-until-marriage programs contain inaccuracies and flaws, the popular opinion differs from state policies, and the government and tax payer’s money could be better allocated to a different cause. Ultimately teaching proper sexual education will help to lower the teenage pregnancy

It is time for a change in the way teenagers are approached with sex, instead of forcing them into abstinence without so much as explaining why they should be abstinent. They should be presented with the facts and how to be safe because it is no longer a time where children will just do as they are told just because they are told not to do something. If they are engaging in these acts the least that could be provided for them is a class on how to keep themselves and their partners

Now in school instructors would take three options, abstinence-only, comprehensive, or no sex education program at all. There is two other places that talk about some type of sex, church and home. The church says that you should wait to have sex for marriage, that is if you believe in God. When your at home it’s up to your parents, planned parenthood says that it’s best to start talking with their children about sex when they are in their early childhood. I do not think that it is the church’s place to say weather you can have sex or not. [Jesus] said, "It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person." (NRSV, Mark

Abstinence only education is hindering the lives of teens in today’s world. Schools should stop teaching abstinence only education since, it increases the rate of teens having sexual relations with other people, it does not give students adequate lessons on preventing STDs, and the rate of teen pregnancy is higher for students who receive abstinence only education. As a nation we need to help teens protect themselves with this topic and most importantly approach it with caution. Many schools believe that abstinence only education is the most effective way to instruct students on the topic of sex when it clearly is not.

Human nature has shaped and developed many different social norms in our society, however, they also create many social problems when conflicting views come under scrutinization. Sexual education in America has been problematic since the late 1900’s because there is simply a lack of it. Sexual education has transformed over a hundred years, abated by the effect of religious upbringings and conservative outlooks. However, as evolved as it is today, it is still a national issue because of the ongoing struggle of comprehensive sexual education against abstinence, and in the midst of the two, students are still not being exposed to proper sexual health.

The issue of comprehensive sex education has sparked debates among parents, teachers and even lawmakers. Children have the right to knowledge and this right to knowledge should not be limited to what is taught in abstinence only sex education, and this is why comprehensive sex education should be taught in schools. Some parents believe that if they do not teach their children about sex, their children will not have sex, but this is not true. Comprehensive sex education better equips young adults to protect themselves, but it also respects their right to be given accurate information that will be used for their entire lives.

There is nothing wrong with encouraging teens to abstain from having sex. But we know, beyond any doubt, that teaching abstinence alone is not a good way to curb teen pregnancy or the spread of sexually transmitted disease. In fact, kids who are taught abstinence alone are less likely to use contraceptives when they do have sex, as many of them inevitably will.

But, on the contrary I support safe-sex programs and believe that abstinent-only programs should be taken out of schools. Some parents truly believe that abstinent-only programs can lead their children into practicing sex only until after marriage. But the fact is that this is an irrational and in some instances even naïve way of thinking. Most Americans have premarital sex as shown by data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth which indicates that “by age 20, 77% of respondents had had sex, 75% had had premarital sex” (Finer). This shows that teenagers will more than likely have sex at some point. Parents who truly care for the future of their child and their well-being should then support a safe-sex program. Safe-sex programs teach children how to properly use contraceptives and are much more open to discussing questions or misguided myths teenagers have about sex all which leads them to have the tools to make the right choices for when they choose to engage in sex. Instead of uncomfortable experiences involving vagina pancakes teenagers can learn the truth about sex and contraceptives which can lead to far fewer unwanted teenage pregnancies which is what any parent should want. As for morality- having correct information, the right materials, and being able to make informed decisions for yourself are all essential tools that teenagers can use to make moral decisions for themselves.

According to a poll done in 2006 that recorded the “Adult and teen preferences for type of sex education needed,” 14% percent of the adults interviewed thought that teens should get more information about abstinence, 8% that they should get more information about birth control, 73% that they should get more information about both abstinence and birth control or protection, 4% didn’t know, and 1% refused to answer. For teens (12-19), 7% percent thought that they should learn more about abstinence, 9% that they should learn more about birth control, 56% that they should learn more about both abstinence and birth control or protection, 22% didn’t know, and 7% refused to answer (“Adult and teen preferences,” 2010).