Abstinence-only vs. Abstinence-plus

1598 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Impact of gender education on children

There are many problems facing teenagers these days. None are bigger than the issue of underage sex, and all the issues stemming from it. The number of teenagers becoming sexually active, pregnant, and contracting sexually transmitted diseases are rapidly on the rise. There is no simple fix, or easy solution to this problem. Sex education should begin at home, and extend to include an effective program in schools that reinforce a clear message of abstaining from sexual activity in addition to informing students of the risks posed by engaging in sexual activity. The political, and religious dissension on this issue has resulted in a procedural stalemate preventing schools from effectively addressing the problem, and implement a comprehensive sex-education program that benefits young adults in Texas and the rest of the United States. Abstinence-Only programs are currently the most used in public schools, but this method is seriously out-dated and does not aptly deal with the issue that teenagers are participating in underage sex regardless of whether they have been told that they should not. Without the proper information, teenagers are blindly making a decision about having sex that could impact their lives in far many more ways than they can fathom, most not fully understanding the ramifications of their decision. The implementation across the nation of a comprehensive Abstinence-Plus program teaching: abstinence, health risks, birth control, teen pregnancy, and providing students with information and birth control is exactly what is needed. 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... ... middle of paper ... ...neffective in changing teen sexual behavior, this is good news for thousands of Texas teens and their parents.” An increase over 200% in less than three years is encouraging and hopefully those numbers continue to grow. Drastic changes need to be made the nations current policies on sex education in schools. More information needs to be provided to the students, and their parents in order to effectively educate them both on the risks of underage sex and the importance of being thoroughly educated in a comprehensive Abstinence-Plus method. Politicians and law-markers need to stop arguing their point and open their eyes to the very real reality that more, and more teenagers are engaging in sexual activity. Young adults are going to learn about sex; the question is will we control when and how they receive the information or will we leave it up to them.

Show More
Related

  • Sex Education is Needed in Florida Schools

    1064 Words  | 3 Pages

    When it comes to monitoring and ensuring the well-being of school-aged children, the agendas of most of our nation’s parents, teachers, and public education policy makers seem to be heavily focused on topics such as bullying, drug awareness, and social development. Although each of these issues is very important and deserving of the attention it receives, there is one topic – sexual education in the public school system – that holds just as much relevance amongst today’s youth, and yet it continues to be denied the same consideration. With underage sex being one of the nation’s long-lasting taboos, one would assume that effective Sex Ed programs in the public school system would be geared towards today’s youth. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the case, especially for those residents of the state of Florida. 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).

    Read More

  • Abstinence-Only vs. Comprehensive Sex Education

    2387 Words  | 5 Pages

    Since the HIV/AIDS epidemic began in the U.S. in the early 1980s the issue of sex education for American youth has had the attention of the nation. There are about 400,000 teen births every year in the U.S, with about 9 billion in associated public costs. STI contraction in general, as well as teen pregnancy, have put the subject even more so on the forefront of the nation’s leading issues. The approach and method for proper and effective sex education has been hotly debated. Some believe that teaching abstinence-only until marriage is the best method while others believe that a more comprehensive approach, which includes abstinence promotion as well as contraceptive information, is necessary. Abstinence-only program curriculums disregard medical ethics and scientific accuracy, and have been empirically proven to be ineffective; therefore, comprehensive sex education programs which are medically accurate, science-based and empirically proven should be the standard method of sex education for students/children in the U.S.

    Read More

  • Abstinence vs. Comprehensive Sex Education

    1345 Words  | 3 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • The Debate of Abstinece-Only or Comprehensive Sex Education

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Be Informed: Have the Sex Talk with Your Kids

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Teen Pregnancy in Illinois

    1120 Words  | 3 Pages

    Based on these statistics, teen pregnancy is obviously a large issue in this county. A possible solution to the issue would be that sex education could to be taught in junior and senior high schools and be taught by parents more often. By the time of sex education, a vast majority of students have already had sex. This may have played a part in Tony, from The Other Wes Moore, being a father at such a young age. The ultimately best solution to help stop teen pregnancy in this county alone is to provide a “sex clinic” to these teenagers. A safe sex clinic is a way of providing teenagers the facts of the real world and even offering various forms of birth control. As other solutions, parents need to have a sex talk with their children, and schools need to provide the option for a sex education more frequently. However, there is no way to mandate what parents teach to students, and it takes far too long to change a state's curriculum. That’s why, through this solution, the rate of teen births would show to decrease for the better.

    Read More

  • Sex! No Longer a Dirty Word

    1623 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sex in America’s high schools is a reality that must be faced head on. Many high school students today are struggling with the decision to have sex. As a society, are we letting today’s teens down by not having a full sexual education curriculum available in all high schools? In a study conducted in 2007, detailing the sexual activity of high school students, between grades ninth and twelfth showed that 48% of students had sexual intercourse (46% girls 50% boys) (ReCAPP). So why is it that our schools teach abstinence to the students? It is made clear by the study that half of the students are still having sexual contact with their partners. After personally experiencing sex at an early age, the discovery sex was foreign to me because of the lack of knowledge that was available in the 80’s. This is something that can be eliminated in this decade due to the knowledge of sex and the problems that can arise from a bad sexual experience.

    Read More

  • Implementation of Comprehensive Sex Education in High School

    1275 Words  | 3 Pages

    Congress hereby finds and declares that the sex education curriculum has been wrongly denied of pursuing a thorough course in order for high schoolers to achieve a better understanding of anything sex related. Sex education, or sex ed, is an instructional course built to instruct issues relating to human sexualiy, sexual anotomy, sexual reproduction, sexual activity, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, and contraceptives. Out of the 50 states in the U.S, only 18 of them are required by law to include a sexual education course available in all high schools. Of the 18 states that are required sex ed however, their curriculum differs. In some states such as Utah, youths learn about sexual education, STD’s, and abstinence until marriage, but are not provided information about contraception. In other states like Washington, teens receive information ranging from homosexuality to contraception methods. States like Utah that promote ‘abstinence-only’ sexual education courses are less effective than those like Washington, where a more in-depth sex ed course showed evidence of no encouragement of sexual activity. Washington used the comprehensive sex education program. The method that Utah used, “Abstinence-only” or “Just Say No” teachings, in spite of the fact that it educates youth on how to reject sexual advances, promote self-sufficiency, instruct the psychological health of youths who have had sex, etc. are biased and prejudiced. This bill will lower the teen ...

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Sexual Education

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sexual education should be taught in school, but as an abstinence-only program. According to Robert Rector, a researcher for the Heritage Foundation, abstinence-based sexual education reduced teen sexual activity. In fact, it has helped to reduce the amount of teen pregnancy (Teens at Risk, 1). Some may say that comprehensive sexual education is better because it “prepares” the teens for what might happen during sexual activity, but here it will be shown that is not always the truth.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: Comprehensive Sex Education In Schools

    794 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sexual education in schools is a highly debated subject today, and has always been one. The debate is between having an abstinence based sex education, where the primary subject discussed is abstaining from having sexual relations until marriage, or having more comprehensive sex education programs. Indeed, there are many benefits to teaching comprehensive sex education classes that educate adolescents on contraception, sexuality, and how to further educate themselves on the subject of sex. That is to say, these programs realize that these students are going to want to have a sexuality, and aim to teach them how to be careful in case they do. Having only abstinence based sexual education in schools has a direct connection to increased numbers of sexually transmitted diseases, teen pregnancies, and an increase in overall sexual activity; therefore, these programs should be replaced by comprehensive sexual education programs containing information on the above mentioned topics.

    Read More

  • Teenagers Need Safe Sex Education

    1128 Words  | 3 Pages

    Three million teenagers will contract a sexually transmitted disease and one in three women will become pregnant before they are twenty years old. Teens are contracting sexually transmitted diseases and getting pregnant at an alarming rate causing the government, schools, and parents to scratch their heads. America is the country with the highest teen pregnancy rate in the world. Many are wondering what can be done to stop this. A debate has been going on about whether abstinence only education is doing any good for high school students in America. Abstinence only education teaches teenagers to abstain from all sexual acts until they are married. It does not teach about pregnancy or the different types of contraceptives that are available to prevent pregnancy. On the other hand, there is safe sex education. Safe sex education teaches teenagers facts about intercourse they need to know, acknowledges the potential consequences or risks of sexual behavior, and helps them make better decisions to protect themselves and their bodies.

    Read More

  • Abstinence: A Failure Of Sex Education

    1802 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Abstinence is clearly the only foolproof way to prevent pregnancy”, said Dayna Henry, an assistant professor in kinesiology and health education at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. “But programs that don’t teach teens anything are misguided. Students who go through abstinence programs have sex anyway”, stated Henry, “but they don’t have the information and the skills they need to protect themselves.” Abstinence only education disregards the basic human rights of our youth, and lacks the appropriate, accurate, and just principles of sex education; especially because the main purpose is to advertise that other than until marriage, students must not in any way, talk

    Read More

  • Essay On Abstinence-Only Sex Education

    1772 Words  | 4 Pages

    In America, a multitude of studies has concluded that abstinence-only sex education is ineffective in comparison to comprehensive sex education. Moreover, proponents of comprehensive sex education claim, “abstinence-only curricula . . . contain false or misleading public health information” (Beh, Diamond, 2006, p.13). However, the main premise of this paper is to explain that abstinence-only sex education is an appropriate approach to minimizing the rate of teen pregnancies and sexual diseases not if abstinence-only sex education “contain false or misleading public health information” (2006). Educational institutions and their focus are

    Read More

  • Comprehensive Sex Education In Schools

    1047 Words  | 3 Pages

    Martinez, Gladys, Joyce Abma, and Casey Copen. “Educating Teenagers About Sex In The United States”. CDC.GOV. Center of Disease Control and Prevention, 15 Sept. 2010. Web. 09 Feb.2014

    Read More

  • The Lack Of Sex Education

    1318 Words  | 3 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

More about Abstinence-only vs. Abstinence-plus

Open Document