The Benefits Of Abstinence Education

It appears that teenagers in America are among the most sexually active in the civilized world. However, whether sex education should be mandated in schools is still a controversial issue. For decades, abstinence-only advocates and comprehensive sex education advocates have disputed the topic, making it a social issue. Abstinence advocates claim that the best method to keep teenagers from having sex is to encourage them to wait till marriage with no discussion of contraceptives, while comprehensive advocates claim that teaching teenagers safe sex and how to use contraceptives will overall encourage teenagers to make better decisions. Despite the controversies, sex education is an important issue in American society today. Sex education …show more content…
This form of sex education has been the most favored and controversial. Those in favor of abstinence education believe that sex before marriage is wrong, that abstinence is the only "safe sex", and that providing information about contraceptives only encourages children and teens to engage in sexual activity. Those that oppose abstinence education believe that children and teens need realistic information to make educated and safe decisions and protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases and reduce the number of teenage pregnancies. People feel that there are many strengths and weaknesses about abstinence-only education. One strength that people praise is that abstinence education teaches self-sufficiency, meaning that teenagers should be content with themselves and find themselves before trying to rely on relationships for support. This encourages emotional and intellectual independence, which young people seem to lack. Another strength is that it teaches that abstinence from sex is truly the only certain way that a person will not get pregnant or contract sexually-transmitted diseases. This is important for young people to learn so that they will think before making rash decisions. However, there are also aspects that people perceive as weaknesses. One perceived weakness is that abstinence is presented as the only option to …show more content…
Advocates of comprehensive sex education claim that young people need realistic information about how to protect themselves from pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and that it is unrealistic to believe that all teens will abstain from sex until marriage. Meanwhile, protesters of comprehensive sex education claim that teaching students how to practice safe sex will only encourage sexual activity at a young age. People feel that there are many strengths and weaknesses about comprehensive sex education as well. A perceived strength is that students learn how to practice safe sex and with that knowledge know how to make better decisions. Another strength of comprehensive sex education is that providing information on contraception options reduces the spread of sexually transmitted diseases among young people (Dolbeck). This means that students seem to practice activities with more caution when provided with accurate information. The people that oppose of comprehensive sex education argue that it only encourages young people to engage in sexual activity (Helmick). Also, many people believe that parents are a barrier to children learning sex education. However, in Parents' Attitudes Toward Comprehensive and Inclusive Sexuality Education, the authors suggest that parents “were uncertain about what form of sexuality