Comprehensive Sex Ed: Why It Works

As a high school senior, when it comes to political debate between advocates of comprehensive sex education versus abstinence only education, the political is personal.  Having lawmakers decide whether or not students receive information on sex is a frightening reality to me. Abstinence-only education would pose American kids with the conundrum of choosing between being unprepared for sex or abstaining entirely.  The latter is the less realistic choice for today’s youth, given they first become sexually active at a median (not average!) age of 17. [1]

A recent New York City mandate is now requiring that all public school students take a minimum of two semesters of comprehensive sex education class between their middle school and high school years.[2] Although these classes encourage the idea of abstinence, conservative religious groups remain unsatisfied and “troubled” by the idea of comprehensive sex education.  Additionally, many conservatives have openly supported and voted for abstinence-only classes in the past. The benefits of comprehensive sex education are plain as day; the United States has continued to see a trend in steadily decreasing numbers of teen pregnancy within the last thirty years. Cutting off much needed sex education resources and information would only result in a herd of stumbling, sexually inexperienced teens. Inaccessibility to these resources would result in a sharp increase in rates of teen pregnancy, HIV, and sexually transmitted diseases.  Comprehensive sex education is necessary.

 This is why abstinence-only education doesn’t work:

 I believe that glorifying the idea of abstinence only creates a heightened desire among students to rebel, which is the opposite of the intended emotional response of discouraging sexual activity. In a society largely swayed by the hand of the media, sex- and having sex at young age to be specific- is presented as a cultural norm. This kind of pressure is inevitable, even with the presence of abstinence-only education in schools. The only thing we can do is provide students with the tools to protect themselves; physically and emotionally.