Sex Education: Safety or Abstinence?

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that 81 percent of parents and guardians polled favor sex education programs that teach all aspects of sex and sexuality, which include how to use birth control and how to protect against STDs, instead of the widespread abstinence-only and dangers of sex program. The author stresses that, even with most schools teaching abstinence-only programs, the approach isn't working very well; teenagers are not abstaining from sex. The paper concludes that teaching teens about the dangers of STDs and the consequences and responsibility that surrounds sexual relationships may actually be reinforcing abstinence as the safest way.

From the Paper:

"In 1996, a companion bill was put onto the Welfare Reform Act. This bill budgeted $440 million over the span of five years to support abstinence-only sex education. In order for school districts to receive funding, they are required to tell the kids that "sexual activity outside the context of marriage is likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects" and that "a mutually faithful monogamous relationship in the context of marriage is the expected standard of human sexual activity." The kids are not to be told about condoms, birth control, or any other protection methods except to highlight their failure rates. Right now, every state except California accepts this funding. In recent news, the Bush administration is attempting to put forth an initiative to increase the funding for this abstinence-only policy."

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