Government funding for sex education should be directed towards comprehensive sex education rather than abstinence and fear based sex education. As part of the Welfare Reform Act of 1996, Congress passed a federal program that allocates a total of fifty million dollars per fiscal year to states that teach abstinence-until-marriage to school-age children (Mary E. Williams). A segment of the welfare reform act is the Title V Abstinence Education Program, which provides eight conditions that must be met in order to receive full funding for the programs. Though funding streams for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs have been closed off during the Obama Administration, the Title V Abstinence Education Program continues to thrive despite
…show more content…
Thirty-seven states do not require medically accurate sex education, and only eighteen states require information on contraception (Rebecca Klein). The exclusion of accurate information on the effectiveness of contraceptives has teens believing there is no point in them during sexual activity. The majority of these states are Southern states, and consequently these states have the highest teen pregnancy rates in the nation. Southern states also have the highest STD rates (Tara Culp-Ressler). On the opposite side of the spectrum are the Northern States which have decreasing teen pregnancy rates. Sex education in these states must include information on contraceptives, and the Northern states with the lowest teen pregnancy rates have medically accurate information in their sex education (Klein). The success rate of inclusive and accurate sex education cannot be denied, especially while states with the opposite programs are failing to lower their teen pregnancy and STD …show more content…
Sex and everything that comes with it is not always a topic open for discussion in households. Talking to family about it can be awkward and leave gaps where information was left out. By the time parent’s talk to their teens about sex, if they do, they discuss only sex. They leave out the relationship and decision making aspects of it in order to exit the conversation sooner. In addition to that, parents often replace critical information about contraceptives with “use a condom” or “don’t do anything stupid.” This is not meant to be misleading as 80% to 85% of parents indicated they want their children to receive comprehensive, medically accurate, age-appropriate sex education (Advocates For Youth). School sex education would not be a substitute to their discussions at home but rather to encourage it. About 77% of teens say they do not know how to introduce the subject to their parents, and almost 90% are afraid of their parents reactions (Advocates for Youth ). If a discussion is opened at school, then parents and teens would find it easier to have a similar discussion at home, but this cannot be guaranteed to happen in every household. In the end, while parents talking to their children about topics of sex education is important, it cannot be the sole source of
Thirty-seven states do not require medically accurate sex education, and only eighteen states require information on contraception (Rebecca Klein). The exclusion of accurate information on the effectiveness of contraceptives has teens believing there is no point in them during sexual activity. The majority of these states are Southern states, and consequently these states have the highest teen pregnancy rates in the nation. Southern states also have the highest STD rates (Tara Culp-Ressler). On the opposite side of the spectrum are the Northern States which have decreasing teen pregnancy rates. Sex education in these states must include information on contraceptives, and the Northern states with the lowest teen pregnancy rates have medically accurate information in their sex education (Klein). The success rate of inclusive and accurate sex education cannot be denied, especially while states with the opposite programs are failing to lower their teen pregnancy and STD …show more content…
Sex and everything that comes with it is not always a topic open for discussion in households. Talking to family about it can be awkward and leave gaps where information was left out. By the time parent’s talk to their teens about sex, if they do, they discuss only sex. They leave out the relationship and decision making aspects of it in order to exit the conversation sooner. In addition to that, parents often replace critical information about contraceptives with “use a condom” or “don’t do anything stupid.” This is not meant to be misleading as 80% to 85% of parents indicated they want their children to receive comprehensive, medically accurate, age-appropriate sex education (Advocates For Youth). School sex education would not be a substitute to their discussions at home but rather to encourage it. About 77% of teens say they do not know how to introduce the subject to their parents, and almost 90% are afraid of their parents reactions (Advocates for Youth ). If a discussion is opened at school, then parents and teens would find it easier to have a similar discussion at home, but this cannot be guaranteed to happen in every household. In the end, while parents talking to their children about topics of sex education is important, it cannot be the sole source of