“My job is not to keep teenagers from having sex. The public schools’ job should not be to keep teens from having sex. Our job should be to tell kids the truth!” (Goldberg 135) This is according to Pam Stenzel, an advocate of abstinence only education.
Abstinence. It is the only way to be free of sexual sin and to maintain a life of purity. It is the truth; it is not a lie. It is not the enemy, but teaching safe sex is. According to Goldberg, the research on abstinence programs and curricula is that it does not do much to stop teens from having sex (137), and according to DeJoy and Perrin, no one has demonstrated that they work (449). In essence, these abstinence only programs seem to cause more problems than they solve and are not the truth, as Stenzel seems to believe.
The first of many problems amongst this line of thinking seems to be the development of these deceptive crisis pregnancy centers, or CPC’s. These are places that mimic women’s health clinics, and yet, when a woman goes inside, they are given abstinence only or anti-abortion speeches, taught nothing about the proper use of contraception, and are instead “encouraged to stop having sex and to embrace ‘second virginity’.” (Goldberg 140) Often times, women who are already having sex are not going to stop, thus, what is the use of pressing one group’s principles on that individual?
Another problem that comes from this is the fact that abstinence only curricula and programs only teach the ineffectiveness of using contraceptives, because the idea is to deter people from having sex at all. Yet, this method is a “disservice to teens who are already sexually active, homosexual teens who are not legally permitted to marry same-sex partners in most states, and young adults who will become sexually active before marriage” (DeJoy 450) because those who choose to have sex are going to have it anyways. This becomes the problem of a person not having proper education about sex, which then leads them to be unlearned about easily preventable things like sexually transmitted diseases or pregnancies.
These “problems” could be easily solved if sexual education were taught in a more proper manner. Yes, teach abstinence as the safest way to prevent pregnancy and disease, but also teach the proper use of contraceptives for those who are either already having sex or are going to make that choice to do so before they are married. Teaching abstinence only curricula, along with the ineffectiveness of contraceptives, is only going to cause more problems for the future.
Goldberg, Michelle. Kingdom Coming. New York: Norton & Co, Inc., 2007.
DeJoy, Sharon Bernecki, and Perrin, Karen. “Abstinence-Only Education: How We Got Here and Where We're Going”. Journal of Public Health Policy, Vol. 24 (2003). Palgrave Macmillan Journals. pp. 445-459
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Recently, the superintendent of public schools in Texas came out and admitted that abstinence-only sed education is ineffective. Obviously, it does not, considering abstinence-only policy in Sarah Palin's Alaska.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the abstinence-only sex education programs in schools are very ineffective. They are telling students to not have sex but some or many students are already having sex so they should be teaching the students ways to have safe sex if they are deciding to have sex.
ReplyDeleteObviously, no one can fight teenagers' hormones, or stop growth. It is a natural process, a part of growth ... psychologically, biologically. These programs are not even designed in way wherein students' inputs are welcomed. How would one be able to reach out to an audience if one doesn't even acknowledge the audience's suggestions?
ReplyDeleteThis blog reminds me of how culturally Americans view teenagers having sex. Traditionally, American religious values are pushing teenagers to wait until marriage before they have sex but overall American media and our individualistic mentality support the notion that teenagers should have the right to choose when they become sexually active. This actually creates a cognitive dissonance in the minds of teenagers. it's sad that our country has the highest rates of teenage pregnancy than any other industrialized country. Not because of the media or our individualistic mentality but because we have a semi-restrictive view about teenagers having sex.
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ReplyDeleteI also believe that an abstinence only education is not only ineffective, but dangerous because since most teenagers are going to follow through what their hormones are making them feel they want to do they will most likely become sexually active in some way and when they do they will not know the facts that they should have been taught such as how to have safe sex. By not providing a regular sex education to students they can become in danger of getting pregnant as well as getting some type of STD. I think it is appropriate to discuss abstinence as one way of preventing these issues but not as the only way of avoiding them.
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