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Abstinence Education research essay
Abstinence Education research essay
Essays on why abstinence education is not effective
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Abstinence is the only sure way that you will not get pregnant or STDs. Teenagers only think of sex as being a pleasurable thing. Most teenagers do not realize that there is a great responsibility and consequences for being sexually active. Abstinence has expended in this society and because our country and culture has clinch to loose morals, the result have been demolish. Teens are developing diseases such as gonorrhea, syphilis and AIDS and they are having unwanted pregnancy before marriage. Condoms as we all know are not one-hundred percent accurate, therefore abstinence should be practiced in our country. Abstinence should be a regular course taught in school because of these important reasons: to prevent pregnancy, to prevent STDs, and to decrease the number of school dropouts.
Abstinence education will delay teens from being sexually active, however opponents argue that abstinence only education does not prepare children for safe sex or how to handle sexual situations maturely and responsibly. They also argue that abstinence does not inform teens about the usage of birth control. They argue that birth control is the best thing to prevent unplanned pregnancies and children will benefit from learning how to properly use condoms and birth control pills. They argue that abstinence focuses on the negatives of sex and that it shows children only the graphic images of sexual transmitted diseases to scare them from having sex.
According to Advocates for Youth, the federal definition of Abstinence-Only Education is one that: “ has as its exclusive purpose, teaching the social, psychological, and health gains to be realized by abstaining sexual activity ( Morgan Smith).” This is important because sex outside of marriage can have ha...
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Works Cited
Banchero, Stephanie. "Abstinence Push Wins in Wisconsin." Wall Street Journal. 15 Mar 2012: A.6. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 20 Apr 2012.
Bell, Kayla. "CON: Abstinence-Only Education Does Not Address Realities of Teens." Victoria Advocate. 18 Jul 2011: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 20 Apr 2012.
McCrady, Peter. "Abstinence-Only Sex Education Curriculum Sees Drop in Texas." McClatchy - Tribune Business News. 13 Dec 2011: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 20 Apr 2012.
ProQuest Staff. "At Issue: Abstinence." ProQuest LLC. 2012: n.pag. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 20 Apr 2012. Stobbe, Mike. "CDC: Many Teen Moms Didn't Think It Could Happen." The Call. 19 Jan 2012: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 20 Apr 2012.
Smith, Morgan. "More Schools Choose to Teach Abstinence-Plus." New York Times. 16 Sep 2011: A.21A. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 20 Apr 2012
It has been almost thirty three years since the first federal funding was put to use in “. . . sex education programs that promote abstinence-only-until-marriage to the exclusion of all other approaches . . .” according to the article “Sex education” (2010) published by “Opposing Viewpoints in Context;” a website that specializes in covering social issues. Since then a muddy controversy has arisen over whether that is the best approach. On one hand is the traditional approach of abstinence (not having sex before marriage), and on the other is the idea that what is being done is not enough, and that there needs to be a more comprehensive approach. This entails not only warning against sex, but also teaching teens about how to have “Safe Sex” (“Sex Education,” 2010).
The primary argument which most advocates for abstinence only education have is that sex before marriage is immoral, not appropriate and that abstinence is the only completely effective method of preventing teen pregnancy and STI contraction. These advocates also emphasize that condoms are not a sure-fire way of preventing pregnancy and STI contraction. Many of the proponents for abstinence-only education believe that educating youth with information concerning sex and contraception will embolden them to become to begin or increase sexual activity. Such advocates accredit the lowering of teenage pregnancy to abstinence only education (Collins, Alagira, and Summers 12-13).
Today’s young Americans face strong peer pressure to be sexually active and engage themselves in risky behaviors (Merino 100-109). Anyone deciding to have sex must first think about all the risks involved. Kekla Magoon, author of Sex Education in Schools, says that “half of all teens aged 15 to 19 years old in the United States have had sex” (Magoon 64-65). It is currently not required by federal law for schools to teach Sex education and those few schools that do teach Sex education have the decision to determine how much information is allowed. Advocates from both sides of the Sex education debate agree that teens need positive influences in order to make practical decisions (Magoon 88-89). Opponents of Abstinence-only education believe it fails because it does not prepare teens for all the risks of sex (Magoon 64-65).
Smith, Morgan. "More Schools Choose to Teach Abstinence-Plus." The New York Times 16 Sept. 2011, National ed.: A21A. The New York Times. 15 Sept. 2011. Web. 10 Oct. 2011.
The Federal Government has invested millions of dollars into an abstinence education program for young adults that provide ways for them to avoid sexual activity at such a young age. The program teaches teens the importance of sustaining from sexual activity before marriage and the importance of a monogamous relationship in a marriage. It also teaches them the harmful effects psychologically and physically, of sexual activity at a young age.
National Abstinence Education Association. “Comprehensive Sex Education Is Inappropriate And Harmful.” Do Abstinence Programs Work?. Christina Fisanick. Michigan. Greenhaven Press, 2010. 33-42. Print.
Kirby, Douglas. "Abstinence, Sex, And STD/HIV Education Programs For Teens: Their Impact On Sexual Behavior, Pregnancy, And Sexually Transmitted Disease." Annual Review Of Sex Research 18 (2007): 143-177. OmniFile Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson). Web. 1 Apr. 2013.
Students should be informed about more than just “don’t have sex” because eventually it is going to happen and they need to be educated on the proper way to handle the situations. Because students are mostly taught abstinence it has created the situation to where researchers find” Abstinence-only education, instead of reducing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, has made teenagers and young adults more vulnerable to ST...
Collins, Chris, Priya Alagiri, and Todd Summers. "Abstinence Only vs. Comprehensive Sex Education: What Are the Arguments? What Is the Evidence?" AIDS Research Institute. University of California, San Francisco, Mar. 2002. Web. 19 Feb. 2011. .
Kohler et al. (2008)“Abstinence-only and Comprehensive Sex Education and the Initiation of Sexual Activity and Teen Pregnancy.” Journal of Adolescent Health, 42(4): 344-351.
Santelli, J., Ott, A., Lyon, M., Rogers, J., Summers, D., &Schelifer, R. (2006). Abstinence and abstinence-only education: A review of U.S. policies and programs. Journal of Adolescent Health 38 p.p.72-81.
The government likes to pretend that if high school students get taught the “abstinence-only” method they would never think of taking part in sexual activities. Statistically this is incorrect. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “56 percent of high school students are virgins”(Martin). For the 56 percent abstinence only is doing them well, but there are still 44 percent of high school students engaging in sex without knowing the precau...
...rograms would prefer the youth to be mature enough to understand why their bodies are important and the consequences of sexual relations. Both can prevent teen pregnancies and diseases, but it depends on the individual and their values. However, the National Library of Medicine found, through observation and research, that “there was a positive correlation between abstinence program and teen pregnancy. In fact, teens that were taught abstinence only were more likely to become pregnant than those who were taught sex education.”
“Forty-one percent of teens ages 18-19 said they know nothing about condoms, and seventy-five percent said they know nothing about the contraceptive pill” (Facts on American Teens). Even if schools taught just abstinence it still would not be enough. “In 2007, a study showed that abstinence only programs have no beneficial impact on the sexual behavior of young people” (Facts on American Teens). Sex education is not taken as seriously as it should be in schools, it is treated like it is not a big deal. Schools should require a sex education class that specifically teaches students about sex and goes into depth of all the possible consequences because of the high pregnancy, abortion, and virus rates.
Before moving on, one must know that sex education is about, but not limited to the discussion of sexual intercourse. As a Buzzle article states, it involves a multitude of topics that introduce human sexual behaviors such as puberty, sexual health, sexual reproduction, sexuality, and more (Iyer). If formally received in school, these topics are brought up and discussed at age-appropriate times over the course of children’s junior high and high school education. Moreover, as I have introduced earlier, the way sex education should be taught is divided into two approaches. It is between taking either a conservative, abstinence-only approach or a more liberal, comprehensive approach. Abstinence-only education, approaches students by stressing the importance of “no sex before marriage” as be...