Essay On Abstinence-Only Sex Education

Presentation of topic:

Abstinence – Only Sex Education is Appropriate in Limiting Teen Pregnancy/Diseases

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

In addition, proponents of comprehensive sex education do have substantial empirical evidence to support the claim that “state policies supporting exclusively abstinence-only sex education . . . were associated with higher teen birth rate” (Beltz, Sacks, Moore, Terzian, 2014, p.134). However, in a study Do State-Based Policies Have an Impact on Teen Birth Rates and Teen Abortion Rates in the United States, the original authors suggest that the empirical data they used did not include “whether sex education policies were “opt-in” or “opt-out . . . most parents remove their children from these classes” (Chevrette, Abenhaim, 2015, p.358). Therefore, the causality of parents removing students from comprehensive sex education class cannot appropriately limit teen pregnancy and sexual diseases. Moreover, abstinence-only sex education is the appropriate approach over comprehensive because “personal decisions such as having sexual intercourse as a teenager . . . are influenced by the core values of the peers, the family, and the role models at this age where the loved-ones’ approval ranks high” (Cheverette Abenhaim, 2015, p.360). In the case where parents remove, their child from sexual education because, an education policy has “opt-in” or “opt-out” options is inconclusive. Even in the Journal of Adolescent Health, State Policy and Teen Childbearing: A Review of Research Studies, research studies are “limited, and more research is needed to strengthen these conclusions” (Beltz, Sacks, Moore, Terzian, 2014, p.130). The major point is that the methodology of the studies is at times erroneous; therefore, the inconsistent empirical data that research studies provide in regards to educational policies cannot adequately