The highest teen pregnancy rate resides in Mississippi, which has an abstinence only sex education curriculum. Abstinence means to restrain oneself from indulging in something usually not good for them or others. In this case, abstinence is a form of sex education, where it teaches students to restrain from having sexual relationships with others until marriage. Sex education shouldn’t be centered around abstinence. Although it teaches good morals, it has many downfalls as well. It leads to a higher risk of developing STDs and HIVs, more teen pregnancies, and abstinence doesn’t accommodate LGBT people.
Teaching an abstinence sex education curriculum doesn’t include on how to protect against and prevent STDs and HIVs. In many states condom education is low especially in Georgia (Swartzendruber). According to the Center for Disease Control, (CDC) Georgia ranks third in syphilis, ninth in chlamydia, fourth in HIV diagnoses, and thirteenth in teen pregnancies (Swartzendruber). Although Georgia’s sex education focuses on abstinence it doesn’t forbid them from teaching disease prevention and teen pregnancy, most school still don’t teach it (Swartzendruber).
Since students aren’t taught about STDs and HIV they do not know the dangers that they possess and are easy for them to gain because of their lack of prior knowledge. When teens acquire them it is costly for 15 of teenagers in the USA aren’t covered by health insurance (Rubin). The CDC claims that the number of kids that are 13-14 years old that have HIV is rising (Jan). As well as knowledge the CDC has an abundance of statistics about sexual behaviors of teens. In 2013 the CDC conducted a survey of high school student’s sexual behavior (CDC). 47% have had sexual intercourse and only 225 percent of hose students had been tested for an HIV infection (CDC). During 2013 10,000 young people aged 13-24 were diagnosed with an HIV infection in the USA (CDC). According to the CDC “Nearly half of the 20 million new STDs each year were among young people, between the ages of 15 to 24” (CDC).
Though abstinence sex education may do some good it is not helping to prevent and protect against STDs and HIV. Since abstinence doesn’t teach about preventing pregnancy, many teenage pregnancies occur because teens are uneducated about prevention. Darroch says, “The U. S. een birth rate, 49 per 1,000 women ages 15 to 19 in 2000, dropped 20% during the 1990s, probably because of increased condom use and an improved economy, says lead author Jacqueline Darroch, senior vice president of AGI (Alan Guttmacher Institute). But it is still about twice that of Canada and Britain and more than five times that of Sweden and France” (Rubin). In the Netherlands teaching about sex education starts in preschool (ProQuest).
They also have the lowest teen pregnancy rate, which is 6. 9 per 1,000 women aged 15-19 and is almost 8 times less than the USA’s teen pregnancy rate (ProQuest). 3 of schools in the USA teaching ex education teach that birth control pills are ineffective against pregnancies and preventing STDs (Rubin). The USA is also the only country with formal policies promoting abstinence, whereas Sweden has a magazine for teens that teaches about contraceptives (Rubin). Also there were almost 273,000 births in 2013 from teenage girls ranging from the ages of 15-19 (CDC). Needless to say abstinence sex education doesn’t help prevent teen pregnancies, it causes more! Abstinence education teaches students to refrain from sexual behaviors until after marriage, but nothing accommodating LGBT people.
Over the years since its beginning in the 1900s sex education classes have changed greatly. In the 1950s, it was focused on marriage life and childbearing (ProQuest). Then, in the 1960s when the birth control pill came out there was a controversy about which method of contraceptive worked best (ProQuest). The 1970s progressed forward to attempt to reduce teen pregnancies and teaching about STDs and AIDS (ProQuest). Next, during the 1980s the focus turned toward having safe sex (ProQuest). Finally in the 1990s abstinence only education became popular, although it was first introduced in 1981 by the Adolescent Family Life Act (ProQuest).
Since then the abstinence only sex education has remained, although some places are breaking off and teaching effective sex education classes. Some are even beginning to incorporate LGBT accommodations. Massachusetts has the most compliant sex education classes for LGBT at 44% percent of schools, whereas Georgia is the lowest at 8% (Jan). Although some legislatures such as Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah have banned positively discussing anything involving LGBT in the school curriculum (an).
Different states have their own rules about homosexuality sex education in schools. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation and Planned Parenthood Federation of America are trying to get schools to teach sex education classes accommodating LGBT people. Ellen Kahn, the director of the children, youth, and families program for the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, said “There is so much difference of opinion in this country about what kids should learn about sexuality that the default position of a lot of schools is just to do the bare minimum to not invite controversy.
By doing that we are missing the mark” (Jan). Since there is little sex education, including LGBT people they are more likely to engage in sexual behaviors because they are not educated and are trying to discover themselves. Plus they are twice as likely to cause teen pregnancies because of the unknown (Jan). LGBT men that are between the ages 13 to 24 are considered to have caused 19% of new HIV infections in the USA and 72% of new HIV infections of youth in 2013 (an). Some LGBT people can’t discuss their issues because they are shunned for the reason of their sexual orientation.
The CDC spends about 13 million dollars per year teaching a five year HIV prevention program in 19 states for LGBT about applicable ways of protection. Massachusetts sex education curriculum from 1999 recommends that students should be able to define what it means to be gay or lesbian by the end of fifth grade and identify possible factors affecting sexual orientation by the time they graduate high school. Although some schools have sex education classes that accommodate LGBT people, others just have abstinence only education which leads to a lot of problems for society.
The main reason abstinence only sex education is still a frequent class is due to the fact that it is thought of to teach good morals to students. People argue that laws are made to maintain good morals, so why is abstinence sex education, a class that teaches good morals not as respected (Helmick)? Others say abstinence protects a person from selfish use. A common thought is that, “People are creatures made by God for their own sake, not for use as a means of gaining emotional or physical pleasure” (Helmick).
Another valid claim is that kids have other things to worry about than sex and STD prevention when it is easier to just refrain from it completely and wait till marriage. Though these are justifiable beliefs they are not always reasonable. Teenagers should be informed about these things because if they don’t learn now who will tell them later? Also sometimes it is not by the person’s choice to engage in sexual behavior, rapists don’t ask permission. In addition to that teenagers are told to “just say no” which can be a very difficult thing.
Finally, following an abstinence relationship can lead to trouble. It causes couples to be married early on in the relationship which can cause issues leading to an early divorce because they were not meant for each other, but they wanted to stay “pure” so they eloped soon after the relationship began. Furthermore, abstinence may be a good idea, but is not always as reasonable as perceived by some people. Abstinence only sex education was thought to be the best way of teaching sex education 1990s.
However at the present time it should be different. Times have changed and the sex education curriculum should follow suit. In spite of the fact that abstinence only sex education teaches good morals it is not the ideal teaching method anymore. It makes for a higher risk of STDs and HIV, more teen pregnancies, and it doesn’t accommodate LGBT people. Out with the old, in with the new, informative sex education classes hopefully will the new “best way” of teaching sex education.
