Pros And Cons Of Abstinence-Only Education

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It may surprise people how much of the information in abstinence-only curricula is inaccurate. More than 80% of the abstinence-only curricula used by over two-thirds of Special Programs of Regional and National Significance Community-Based Abstinence Education (SPRANS) grantees contain false, misleading, or distorted information about reproductive health ("What the Research Shows”). According to a 2004 study by the Government Reform Committee Staff, out of the thirteen most commonly used abstinence-only education curricula, only two are completely accurate. The other eleven, used by sixty-nine organizations in twenty-five states, contain medical inaccuracies, treat gender stereotypes as facts, blur religion and science, and contain outright …show more content…

It is understandable why parents would believe this, but, in fact, this fear is unfounded. There is absolutely no correlation between comprehensive sex education and higher rates of sexual activity in teens; in some cases, teens in comprehensive programs have more of a delay in sexual initiation, and fewer sexual partners, than students in abstinence-only education. Also, comprehensive programs have been effective for all major ethnic groups, all genders, in different settings and communities, and for both sexually experienced and inexperienced teens (Kirby). If any more convincing is needed, here is more evidence: The lowest pregnancy rates are found in states that teach comprehensive sex education (Kirby), and an analysis of the comparison between federal funding, chlamydia, gonorrhea and pregnancy in teens age 15 to 19 found that there is a link between higher funding of abstinence education programs and higher rates of negative health outcomes (Trenholm, Devaney, Fortson, Quay, Wheeler, and Clark) . To conclude, abstinence-only sex education is ineffective, inaccurate, and injurious to students’ health, and states should adopt a more comprehensive sex

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