What should public schools teach our children about sex? It can be a complex question, especially when dealing with morals, social norms, pop culture, hormones and health. When students sit down for their sex education, should teachers embrace an abstinence-only policy?
Teaching sex education in a contraception-plus-abstinence format sends mixed and confusing messages to youth. It’s basically saying “don’t have sex outside of marriage, but when you do….” The underlying message is that teens are not capable of abstaining from sex, which is not the case.
“Comprehensive” sounds attractive on the surface, but what exactly does it mean in actual practice? A 2004 Heritage Foundation study found that abstinence education programs devote 54 percent of page content to abstinence-related material – whereas “comprehensive” sex education programs devote 5 percent. Also, while abstinence education programs devote 17 percent of page content to healthy relationships and the benefits of marriage – whereas so-called “comprehensive” sex education programs devote 0 percent.
Abstinence for unmarried youth is the best and healthiest choice, and young people should be encouraged accordingly.
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