The negative effects of abstinence-only sex education and why it should lose federal funding
Conner Siems
Westview High School
There are many tests that high schoolers wish to pass, but there is one that nearly all of them hope turns out negative. The results of the classic pregnancy test, as stressful as any final or midterm, bring either extreme relief or powerful emotions of fear and sadness to teenagers. Sadly, there are government-sponsored programs that inadvertently cause more young women to pass this upside-down examination. Abstinence-only sex education programs are almost completely ineffective at achieving their goal of getting students to abstain from sex until marriage. Without proper safe sex education, sexually …show more content…
Teenagers are naturally curious and routinely disobey authority when it tries to censor their curiosity. Sue Alford, a journalist for the Advocates for Youth foundation, points out that “[abstinence-only programs] did not achieve later sexual initiation or lower rates of pregnancy or STIs. By the end of the study, abstinence-only participants had their first sexual encounter at the same average age as [comprehensive sex education participants]” (Alford, 2007). The main goal of most abstinence-only sex ed programs is to prevent young people from having sex before marriage (Santelli, Ott, Lyon, Rodgers, Summers, Schleifer, 2006, 73). However, most of those who underwent this program still failed to save themselves for matrimony and had sex in their adolescent years (Santelli et. al., 2006, 73). Abstinence-only sex ed does not require the teaching of safe sex (Section 510(b)(2) of the Social Security Act). Abstinence students won’t know how to protect themselves when they first have sex, and are in danger of contracting a sexually transmitted …show more content…
Young adults, no matter what is taught to them, will still have premarital sex. When abstinence students do decide to get intimate, they wind up in danger because their sex ed program didn’t teach them how to have sex safely. This increases the spread of STIs and the rate of pregnancy amongst teenagers, who may rely on futile rumors for safe sex advice if no proper sex education is provided. Statistically, teenage parents are much more negatively affected than older parents, which translates into an unhappy upbringing for the child. Most abstinence-only programs’ goal is to keep students from having sex until marriage. In nature, this goal discriminates against non-heterosexuals who cannot marry in some places due to state laws. Many abstinence-only sex ed programs contain despicable amounts of incorrect information that lead impressionable adolescents to ill-informed conclusions. The prevelance of . Although abstinence-only sex education may be effective for a handful of young people, it is ineffective for the large majority of the youth and consequently raises rates of sexually transmitted infection and pregnancy while also discriminating against non-heterosexuals, blurring the line between church and state and teaching students false information in order to reach their goal.
Conner Siems
Westview High School
There are many tests that high schoolers wish to pass, but there is one that nearly all of them hope turns out negative. The results of the classic pregnancy test, as stressful as any final or midterm, bring either extreme relief or powerful emotions of fear and sadness to teenagers. Sadly, there are government-sponsored programs that inadvertently cause more young women to pass this upside-down examination. Abstinence-only sex education programs are almost completely ineffective at achieving their goal of getting students to abstain from sex until marriage. Without proper safe sex education, sexually …show more content…
Teenagers are naturally curious and routinely disobey authority when it tries to censor their curiosity. Sue Alford, a journalist for the Advocates for Youth foundation, points out that “[abstinence-only programs] did not achieve later sexual initiation or lower rates of pregnancy or STIs. By the end of the study, abstinence-only participants had their first sexual encounter at the same average age as [comprehensive sex education participants]” (Alford, 2007). The main goal of most abstinence-only sex ed programs is to prevent young people from having sex before marriage (Santelli, Ott, Lyon, Rodgers, Summers, Schleifer, 2006, 73). However, most of those who underwent this program still failed to save themselves for matrimony and had sex in their adolescent years (Santelli et. al., 2006, 73). Abstinence-only sex ed does not require the teaching of safe sex (Section 510(b)(2) of the Social Security Act). Abstinence students won’t know how to protect themselves when they first have sex, and are in danger of contracting a sexually transmitted …show more content…
Young adults, no matter what is taught to them, will still have premarital sex. When abstinence students do decide to get intimate, they wind up in danger because their sex ed program didn’t teach them how to have sex safely. This increases the spread of STIs and the rate of pregnancy amongst teenagers, who may rely on futile rumors for safe sex advice if no proper sex education is provided. Statistically, teenage parents are much more negatively affected than older parents, which translates into an unhappy upbringing for the child. Most abstinence-only programs’ goal is to keep students from having sex until marriage. In nature, this goal discriminates against non-heterosexuals who cannot marry in some places due to state laws. Many abstinence-only sex ed programs contain despicable amounts of incorrect information that lead impressionable adolescents to ill-informed conclusions. The prevelance of . Although abstinence-only sex education may be effective for a handful of young people, it is ineffective for the large majority of the youth and consequently raises rates of sexually transmitted infection and pregnancy while also discriminating against non-heterosexuals, blurring the line between church and state and teaching students false information in order to reach their goal.