The Failure of Abstinence-Only Sexual Education

908 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: comprehensive sex education program versus abstinence

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.

Show More
Related

  • 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

  • Sex Education is Needed in Florida Schools

    1064 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Abstinence-Only vs. Comprehensive Sex Education

    2387 Words  | 5 Pages

    "US Government Should Stop Funding Abstinence-Only Education: Virginity Pledge Ineffective." Reproductive Health Matters Nov. 2009: 223. Academic OneFile. Web. 4 Apr. 2012.

    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

  • Abstinence-only vs. Abstinence-plus

    1598 Words  | 4 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Abstinence-Plus

    1193 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Decrease Of Teen Pregnancy Rate

    454 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Influence of Sex Education on the Younger Community

    1734 Words  | 4 Pages

    National Abstinence Education Association. “Comprehensive Sex Education Is Inappropriate And Harmful.” Do Abstinence Programs Work?. Christina Fisanick. Michigan. Greenhaven Press, 2010. 33-42. Print.

    Read More

  • Condom Distribution in Public Schools

    1382 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Sex Education in Schools: Abstinence-Only Programs

    2001 Words  | 5 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Be Informed: Have the Sex Talk with Your Kids

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    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. .

    Read More

  • Sex Education in the U.S. and Japan

    1191 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Sex Education For Public Schools

    1534 Words  | 4 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Teenagers Need Safe Sex Education

    1128 Words  | 3 Pages

    "The History of Federal Abstinence-Only Funding." Advocates for Youth. July 2008. Web. 9 Mar. 2015.

    Read More

  • Sex Education : A Hot Topic Of Debate

    911 Words  | 2 Pages

    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).

    Read More

More about The Failure of Abstinence-Only Sexual Education

Open Document