“Everybody an’ their mamma preaching abstinence, these
Kids ain’t checking for absti-shit
So put a condom in their hand and hope it don’t bust”
— Coolio, “Too Hot”
Several comments and suggestions that Bush made in his State of the Union speech last week are likely to stir controversy among pundits and laymen alike in the months leading up to the 2004 presidential election.
One such initiative was the notoriously ineffective and downright moronic idea of abstinence-only sex education — which, in an age when more and more teenagers are having sex at earlier ages, would produce frightening and unintended results.
Abstinence-only sex education, as opposed to traditional forms of sex education, portrays abstinence as the only moral thing to do before marriage and ignores any information about contraception that could protect against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
Abstinence-only instruction is wholly based on the assumption that every single teenager receiving the education will be morally correct enough to respond to the intense barrage of hormones and confusion that accompanies puberty in a way that morality prescribes. Biologically, that is oft a dim hope.
Conversely, Planned Parenthood defines “comprehensive sex education” as “age- and developmentally appropriate education that includes a variety of topics related to human development, relationships, personal skills, sexual behavior, sexual health, and society and culture. It teaches that abstinence is the best method for avoiding STDs and unintended pregnancy, but also provides information about condoms and contraception.”
Comprehensive sex education, while seemingly tedious as a young person, is scientifically proven to be more effective than abstinence-only forms of education. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, the teen pregnancy rate in America is actually decreasing while the rate of contraceptive use among those who are having sex at young ages is increasing — further evidence that correct use of contraceptives is working to lower the troubling rates of teen pregnancy.
Clearly, traditional forms of sex education just make sense. It is completely unreasonable to assume that all teenagers will adopt abstinence-only morals in an age when authority seems like a joke. While abstinence-only may seem like a good idea, without a working knowledge of how to practice safe sex, the teenagers who don’t practice abstinence will be at a high risk for pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. And endangering teenagers with an entire life ahead of them shouldn’t be the aim of the federal government, especially one headed by a president who preaches “no child left behind” on a regular basis.
One way to alleviate the sex education debate in this country would be for parents to stop complaining about how schools teach about sex and just do it themselves. Have honest conversations about sex with your teenagers, whether you focus on abstinence or the importance of birth control. Answer their questions. Give them advice. Be parents.