Comprehensive Sexual Education

Sexual education is a hot topic right now, and the rise in the debate over it is due to the United States having one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in almost all developed nations. The debate stems from the idea that educating teens about safe sex will make them more likely to do it, but that is not the case. Comprehensive sex ed programs do not encourage teens to have sex, but instead teach them the pros and cons of sex in an unbiased manner. Abstinence only programs are ineffective in general, fail to give teens the tools they need to lead sexually healthy, and hurt teens further by encouraging the idea that sex is an obscene and taboo subject.

Abstinence only programs are ineffective. Period. Many worried parents push for abstinence

If young adults are going to have sex either way, then why would it be logical to teach them that the only way to keep themselves safe from pregnancy and STDs is through abstinence? Stanger-Hall raises the point, “advocates for continued abstinence only education need to ask themselves: If teens don’t learn about human reproduction, including safe sexual health practices to prevent unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, as well as how to plan their reproductive adult life in school, then when should they learn about it and from whom?” (Stanger-Hall). It is important to ask why sex is portrayed as “dirty” in society when it is a necessary act. This taboo relationship that kids begin to see as normal hurts in the long run when they become too scared to ask their parents for information. Why does society continue to treat a normal human function as indecent and unfit for discussion? Part of growing up is making decisions separate from parents’ influence and sex should be no different. Sexual education in high schools needs to be comprehensive enough to allow teens and young adults to make sexual decisions independently. Comprehensive sexual programs are more complex than abstinence only programs and Kathrin Stanger-Hall summarizes them perfectly with this statement:

It is a lose-lose situation when both school officials and parents are avoidant about this important subject because they feel it will tarnish their children’s minds with indecent thoughts. Those officials instead organize sexual education course material around abstinence of sex until marriage and because of that students miss out on learning vital subject material pertaining to their own sexual well-being. While abstinence is the goal and teaching teenagers about sex seems counterintuitive, “there’s actually a large body of research proving that comprehensive sex ed is an effective tool for accomplishing [abstinence]” (Culp-Ressler). Today’s kids should not be shielded from certain aspects of sex because they seem too graphic or inappropriate for school. Nothing is too graphic when it comes to potentially altering someone 's life from going down the wrong path. Statistics from studies show that “kids who receive accurate information about sexuality, including information about how to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancies and STDs, are more likely to delay having sex until they’re older” (Culp-Ressler). Another thing that must be reiterated is that no matter how many abstinence only programs students go through, some are bound to engage in sexual activity regardless. Instead of trying to get kids to stay