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Many parents often worry that their teens are engaging in unhealthy or dangerous behaviors, including reckless driving, drinking, drugs, and unprotected sex. For many parents, the only obvious solution is to try and hide the facts of sex from their children, in the hopes that the less they know about it, the less tempted they will feel to do it. Other parents make doomsday-esque statements about what will happen if their child participates in sexual behavior before marriage, in the hopes of scaring their teens into abstinence. Overall though, multiple surveys and studies have shown that abstinence-only sexual education is ineffective, misleading, and possibly even riskier than a comprehensive sex ed class would be (Alford par. 2). This form of sexual education can actually make teens more likely to contract a sexually-transmitted disease or get pregnant, and can have detrimental psychological effects on teen girls. One of the biggest concerns that parents have when it comes to premarital sex is sexually-transmitted diseases, or STDs. While these diseases are a serious issue, they are also preventable through the use of condoms. However, a lot of ultraconservative abstinence-only programs spread lies and falsehoods that imply that condoms work less often than they actually do (Alford par 5). This can lead to teens feeling that condoms are unnecessary, and the stigma that surrounds them in conservative households can even make it impossible for a teenager to get them. But when it has been estimated that almost half of all new sexually-transmitted infections, or STIs have occurred in sexually active people under the age of 25 (Alford par 19) it becomes apparent that teens and young adults really need more education on what STDs an... ... middle of paper ... ...xual education, in which information about condoms, birth control pills, and consent is distributed. Works Cited Alford, Sue. "Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs: Ineffective, Unethical, and Poor Public Health." Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs: Ineffective, Unethical, and Poor Public Health. Ed. Marilyn Keefe. Advocates For Youth, July 2007. Web. 11 Nov. 2013. Beadle, Amanda P. "Teen Pregnancies Highest In States With Abstinence-Only Policies."ThinkProgress RSS. N.p., 10 Apr. 2010. Web. 11 Nov. 2013. Kay, Julie F., and Ashley Jackson. Sex, Lies & Stereotypes. University of Southern California Global Health. University of Southern California, 2008. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. Mean Girls. Dir. Mark Waters. SNL Studios, 200. Film. "The Truth About Abstinence-Only Programs." The Truth About Abstinence-Only Programs. Advocates For Youth, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
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).
Reflective of the predominantly conservative mindset of the early to mid 1900s, the sex education programs in the Florida education system seem to focus primarily on “abstinence-only-until-marriage” (Support SIECUS). In other words, these programs preach that completely abstaining from any sexual activity is the only way to avoid potentially devastating consequences, such as teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Although this idea may be true, it is based on the faulty premise that all teens will adhere to such a policy, therefore, eliminating the need to educate them on other precautionary measures, such as contraceptives. Unfortunately, such hopes have proven to be unrealistic, resulting in the need for these programs to be readdressed.
"US Government Should Stop Funding Abstinence-Only Education: Virginity Pledge Ineffective." Reproductive Health Matters Nov. 2009: 223. Academic OneFile. Web. 4 Apr. 2012.
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).
Strong emotions, and opinions are found on both sides of this argument, but the fact of the matter is that Abstinence-Only programs are insufficient in educating teenagers ab...
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.
Teenage sexual activity is a major problem confronting the nation and has led to a rising incidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and teenage pregnancy. The existence of HIV/AIDS has given a sense of urgency to the topic of sex education. The issue of sex education in schools especially in the formative years has been a subject of intense debate among parents, school officials, health scientists and religious authorities worldwide for a considerable period of time. The debate centers on comprehensive sex education versus abstinence-only sex education in school. Abstinence only sex education is a sex education model that focuses on the virtue of abstinence from sexual activities; therefore, encouraging sexual abstinence until marriage. This form of sexual education completely ignores all other elements of comprehensive sexual education like safe sex and reproductive health education issues like the use of contraceptives and birth control methods. Comprehensive sex teaching encourages promiscuous sexual activity as “a natural part of life.” Proponents of abstinence only education activists cite several reasons why this type of education is the best. It focuses on the upholding of moral virtues. They also claim that sex outside marriage hat is “encouraged” by the comprehensive sex education which as a result, has some emotional and physical downfall especially when done at a very young age. They blame the comprehensive sex education for failing to discourage premarital sex especially at this time when the HIV pandemic is busy devouring young people in various parts of the world (Deborah 2). In fairness, both programs were designed to decrease the incidence of STDs...
Malone, Patrick, and Monica Rodriguez. "Comprehensive Sex Education vs. Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs." Human Rights Magazine 38 (2011). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. .
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...
"The History of Federal Abstinence-Only Funding." Advocates for Youth. July 2008. Web. 9 Mar. 2015.
Sex education in our schools has been a hot topic of debate for decades. The main point in question has been whether to utilize comprehensive sex education or abstinence-only curriculum to educate our youth. The popularity of abstinence-only curriculum over the last couple of decades has grown largely due to the United States government passing a law to give funding to states that teach the abstinence-only approach to sex education. But not teaching our children about sex and sexuality is not giving them the information they need to make well educated decisions. Sex education in our schools should teach more than just abstinence-only because these programs are not proven to prevent teens from having sex. Children need to be educated on how to prevent contracting sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies and be given the knowledge to understand the changes to their bodies during puberty. According to the Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education: Kindergarten-12th Grade from the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), comprehensive sex education “should be appropriate to age, developmental level, and cultural background of students and respect the diversity of values and beliefs represented in the community” (SIECUS).