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?
Public schools should always present and advocate the highest health standard for our children. Without a doubt, abstinence is the healthiest choice for unmarried youth because it is the only sure way to avoid pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. Don’t our youth deserve to be directed toward what is in their best interests?
As matter of policy, all sex education curricula should be carefully and regularly reviewed for inaccuracies, and to ensure the curricula use the latest medical data available. It is important to note that abstinence programs teach students about a variety of topics, including relationship skills, teen pregnancy, STDs, HIV, refusal skills, emotional bonding, differences between men and women, body image issues, condom effectiveness and the benefits of marriage.
The truth is that in actual practice, condoms and other methods of birth control often fail. In the heat of passion, teens are likely to forget or disregard proper condom use, or not use a condom at all. Then, there are the emotional consequences of sexual activity outside a marital relationship – can a condom protect one’s heart?
Those who believe it has been “demonstrated conclusively” that abstinence-only programs don't work should read the June 11, 2008, USA Today article titled, “Teen survey shows virginity pledges can work.” A link to the article, which is based on a RAND Corp. study, can be found in the supporting evidence section of this Website.
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