Essay On Abstinence-Only Education
Sexual activity can be detrimental to the success of adolescents because they become more susceptible to STI’s and run the risk of long term emotional trauma. Receiving unbiased, medically-accurate information decreases these risk and allows young people to make informed choices that will improve their lives.
Although “abstinence-only” education may be the more common sexual education program, comprehensive programs that incorporate various curricula will provide adolescents with the tools necessary to develop healthy relationships, and become productive citizens.
Although adolescents are impacted the most by sexual education policy they have the least influence in affecting it. In many cases teens have a negative opinion of abstinence programs …show more content…
In recent years both abstinence and comprehensive programs have received the support of parents. However, according to the Advocates for Youth Organization, “80-85 percent of parents indicate they want their children to receive comprehensive, medically accurate, age-appropriate sex education.” (Huberman) Although abstinence education is capable of fulfilling these criteria, the various programs throughout the U.S are not consistently medically accurate. Parents tend to prefer curriculum that covers a broad range of information including abstinence and contraception.
Unsurprisingly, the U.S government has the largest amount of control over sexual education programs. Despite declining teen pregnancy rates, the government still has a great interest in instituting effective sexual education programs, with a focus on abstinence programs. Since 1996, over $1 billion dollars have been spent to promote pre-marital abstinence among young Americans. (Boonstra 1) Despite the large amounts of funding given to abstinence programs the government has shown an increased willingness to support comprehensive programs over the last decade. The Responsible Education about Life or “Real” Act has been introduced in every congress since 2005 and “serves as an important tool to garner congressional and public support for comprehensive sex
Although “abstinence-only” education may be the more common sexual education program, comprehensive programs that incorporate various curricula will provide adolescents with the tools necessary to develop healthy relationships, and become productive citizens.
Although adolescents are impacted the most by sexual education policy they have the least influence in affecting it. In many cases teens have a negative opinion of abstinence programs …show more content…
In recent years both abstinence and comprehensive programs have received the support of parents. However, according to the Advocates for Youth Organization, “80-85 percent of parents indicate they want their children to receive comprehensive, medically accurate, age-appropriate sex education.” (Huberman) Although abstinence education is capable of fulfilling these criteria, the various programs throughout the U.S are not consistently medically accurate. Parents tend to prefer curriculum that covers a broad range of information including abstinence and contraception.
Unsurprisingly, the U.S government has the largest amount of control over sexual education programs. Despite declining teen pregnancy rates, the government still has a great interest in instituting effective sexual education programs, with a focus on abstinence programs. Since 1996, over $1 billion dollars have been spent to promote pre-marital abstinence among young Americans. (Boonstra 1) Despite the large amounts of funding given to abstinence programs the government has shown an increased willingness to support comprehensive programs over the last decade. The Responsible Education about Life or “Real” Act has been introduced in every congress since 2005 and “serves as an important tool to garner congressional and public support for comprehensive sex