Abstinence Debate

Another leading cause of teen pregnancy is uneducated youths. The debate over abstinence versus contraceptives has been battled over for the past few years. This debate is making teens become uneducated on the prevention of teen pregnancy. The sex-education policy has changed due to new presidents being in office. According to Clemmitt, “in 2009, the Obama administration ended the Bush administration policy to federally fund only sex-education programs with abstinence as the primary focus” (1). The main goal of this program is to prevent teen pregnancy with the use of abstinence. Clemmitt states, “Abstinence education began receiving federal funding as far back as 1982, in the Adolescent Family Life Act, signed into law by President Ronald Reagan, which promoted abstinence and disciplined decision-making among pregnant teen and teen parents” (11). The

in Clemmitt 3). These polices have somewhat contributed to the reason why the youths are uneducated. Albert also states, “Now the administration and Congress are saying that in the abstinence versus contraceptive-information battle, we are landing squarely on the side of science,” (qtd. in.Clemmitt 3). As a result, contraceptives are proving to be more effective. Furstenberg comments, “Biology dictates that most “teens are going to be sexual” at some point” (qtd. in.Clemmitt 3). Since teens are going to be sexual and are not being educated about contraceptives, the rate for pregnancy sky rockets. According to Lagana and Hayes, “Opponents of abstinence-only education argue that such programs may increase reluctance to use contraception, which could lead to increased pregnancies among those who do chose to become sexually active ” (Williams et.al 1). Many parents believe that abstinence-only classes will not teach their teens what they need to know if they do decide to have