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Gabriela Schiappacasse Formatted: Left

Professor Malcolm Campbell
UWRT 1104
11/2/2018
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From Students to Mothers: Are Schools are Condoning Teen Pregnancy with Abstinence-Only Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman, 12 pt
Sex EdSexual Education?

Abstinence-Only education programs have been scaring teens out of sex since 1998. To

many, the phrase “abstinence-only education” doesn’t ring any bells. as it was taught in schools

under the name “health and sexual education.” Many have no clue what is taught in abstinence-

only programs and the effects of this on how youth view sex. These programs are being taught in

schools all over the country with a hope that the increased rate of teen pregnancy pregnancies

will lower. Bbut , studies have shown that abstinence-only programs are ineffective and are

positively correlated with the increased rate of teen pregnancy pregnancies in the United States

and these numbers will continue to grow until we educate ourselves and our youth about

comprehensive sexual education and why we need it. .

Jessica Chester was a seventeen-year-old who attended high school in Garland, Texas.

Jessica was top of her class with a 4.5 GPA and a full-tuition scholarship to the University of

Texas. Before her senior year of high school, Chester found out she was pregnant and she

thought her life was over. and her whole life changed. “In Texas every year, about 35,000 teens

and young women get pregnant before they turn 20” (Silverman), 2017). Chester is not the only

one in her family to become a teen parent, but she is attempting to break that mold, so her boys

won’t end up as teen parents like her mother and grandmother were. Gwen Daverth, CEO of the

Texas Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, says that “Teens everywhere are having sex, with

about half of high school students saying they've had sexual intercourse and that the high

numbers in Texas reflect policy, not promiscuity.” An incredibly difficult task is to try and

prevent the inevitable and contrary to popular belief, the inevitable in this case is not teenage
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Professor Malcolm Campbell
UWRT 1104
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pregnancy, but sex. It is not hard to imagine that teens all over are having sex, many of them

unprotected and uneducated. What is hard to imagine though is that we are not educating and

connecting our youth with contraceptive services and ways to have safe sex. We are not

promoting healthy sex if we use sexual education courses in schools to scare youth out of having

sex, which in the end only makes them more vulnerable to unplanned pregnancies and STD’s.

According to the website Advocates for Youth, Abstinence- only programs or

“Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs teach abstinence as the only morally correct option

of sexual expression for teenagers. They usually censor information about contraception and

condoms for the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and unintended pregnancy”

(Alford) 2007). Abstinence-only programs are designed to keep youth in the dark in hopes that if

their curiosity is squashed and covered up with pictures of infected genitalia and “horror” stories

about teen parenting, that youth will be less likely to have sexual relations. Keeping them in the

dark only increases their curiosity to find out if what is being said is true. Majority of youth find

out the hard way that there is some truth to what was taught in school, such as the spreading of

disease and unplanned pregnancies, but it doesn’t have to reach that point anymore. There is so

much that we can offer youth in terms of knowledge about sex and different forms of

contraception but refuse to out of fear that if we educate them, they will use the tools that we

have given them. But when you stop to think about it, isn’t that the point?

Teaching abstinence-only sexual education in schools, in its simplest form, is taking

away the rights of our youth. An article titled “The Truth About Abstinence-Only Programs”

from the Advocates for Youth website says that, “accurate, balanced sex education– including
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information about contraception and condoms – is a basic human right of youth. Such education

helps young people to reduce their risk of potentially negative outcomes, such as unwanted

pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs)” (Alford) 2007). We take away their right

to knowledge and their right to protection because if we keep them in the dark much longer, they

won’t be able to see the poor, uneducated decisions they’re making that come with life changing

consequences.

One of the claims against comprehensive sexual education, which teaches about

abstinence as the best method for avoiding STDs and unintended pregnancy as well as condoms

and contraception, is the idea that parents don’t want their children exposed to the material being

taught. The article, “The Truth About Abstinence-Only Programs,” goes through the claims and

the facts of abstinence-only programs and helps bring truth to light on this controversial issue. It

is assumed that parents want abstinence-only education to be taught in schools, but the fact is

that most parents want far more than abstinence-only in schools. Only 15 percent of American

adults believe that schools should teach abstinence-only education and should not provide

information on how to obtain and use condoms and other contraception. Most parents want a

broader sexual education curriculum that teaches more than just about what diseases are but how

they are contracted, how to get tested, how to put a condom on, and the different types of birth

control available.

Another claim is that abstinence-only programs provide accurate, unbiased information

about sex, but the fact is that much of the what is commonly taught in abstinence-only programs

is distorted information. Youth are misinformed on the effectiveness of contraceptives, abortion,

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11/2/2018
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STD’s and more. A report by the Government Reform Committee staff reviewed the “13 most

commonly used curricula and concluded that two of the curricula were accurate but that 11

others, used by 69 organizations in 25 states, contained unproven assertions, subjective

conclusions, or outright falsehoods regarding reproductive health, gender traits, and when life

begins” (Alford) 2007). As stated before, Abstinence-only programs have one goal and that is to

prevent teens from engaging in any sexual activities before marriage. These programs are used to

scare youth out of sex instead of educating them on how to have safe sex. The uneducated youth

don’t learn comprehensive sexual education from schools and they become uneducated parents

who don’t know how to educate their children on sexual activity and so continues the vicious

cycle of disease and teen pregnancy.

This brings me to my last point. Comprehensive sexual education is no longer an option,

but a necessity. Motivated by the high teen pregnancy rates, the appropriate type of sex

education that should be taught in public schools in the United States continues to be a major

topic of debate. Compared to other developed countries, from 2002-2005, such as the

Netherlands, the teen pregnancy rate was 11.8%, versus that of the United States which has an

astounding teen pregnancy rate of 72.2%. While states in the U.S. with comprehensive sexual

education programs have lower teen pregnancy rates, these rates are much higher than those seen

in Europe. This is largely due to the fact that in the United States, state laws do not require

sexual education to be taught in all schools, but that they provide “guidelines” on the basics of

sex. The difference between the rate of teen pregnancy in the United States and that of Europe is

not because of the amount of sexual activity between youth, but the content of their sexual
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education programs and the accessibility of contraceptives and support. “Sex education in

Europe is based on the definition of sexuality as a lifelong process, aiming to create self-

determined and responsible attitudes and behavior with regard to sexuality, contraception,

relationships and life strategies and planning” (Stanger-Hall & Hall) 2011)..

This controversial debate begs the question that if abstinence-only education should

result in teenagers being abstinent, that means that the teenage pregnancy and birth rates should

be lower in the states that have an added emphasis on abstinence-only, right? Wrong. Data has

proven that abstinence-only education does not delay sexual initiation or reduce teen pregnancy

rates. “A long-awaited, federally-funded evaluation of four carefully selected abstinence-only

education programs, published in April 2007, showed that youth enrolled in the programs were

no more likely than those not in the programs to delay sexual initiation, to have fewer sexual

partners, or to abstain entirely from sex” (Stanger-Hall & Hall) 2011).

So where do we go from here? We take baby steps to try and lower the increasing teen

pregnancy rate. One of the first steps would be to have all states require that comprehensive

sexual education be taught as a necessity and not an option in all schools. Sexual education

teachers should receive proper training and informed knowledge in order to teach youth on the

importance of having safe sex. There is only so much that the youth can do alone, so imagine the

endless possibilities they would have with our support. “…it should be our goals that (1) teens

can make educated reproductive and sexual health decisions, that (2) teen pregnancy and STD

rates are reduced to the rates of other developed nations, and that (3) these trends are maintained

through the teenage years into adulthood” (Stanger-Hall & Hall). 2011). Abstinence-only
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Professor Malcolm Campbell
UWRT 1104
11/2/2018
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programs may be condoning irresponsible behavior in terms of sexual activity by keeping our

youth uneducated and in the dark. Some youth never receive sexual education at home from

parents and what is put on social media can be easily distorted so where else can they turn to but

school? As educators, policy makers, and formerly confused adults, it is our responsibility to

protect the future generations to come by giving them all the tools to succeed whether that be

accessibility to contraception or integrated sexual education in the classrooms. We must help

guide them the right way because if not us, who? If not now, when?
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Professor Malcolm Campbell
UWRT 1104
11/2/2018
02 November 18 Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman, 12 pt
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Works Cited

Advocates for Youth. “The Truth About Abstinence-Only Programs.”

Advocatesforyouth.org, www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/publications-a-z/409-the-

truth-about-abstinence-only-programs. Accessed 23 Oct 2018.

“Sex Education Programs: Definitions & Point-by-Point Comparison.” Edited by Sue

Alford, Advocatesforyouth.org, Advocates for Youth, 2007,

www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/publications-a-z/655-sex-education-programs-

definitions-and-point-by-point-comparison. Accessed 5 Nov 2018.

Silverman, Lauren. “In Texas, Abstinence-Only Programs May Contribute to Teen

Pregnancies.” NPR, NPR, 5 June 2017, www.npr.org/sections/health-

shots/2017/06/05/530922642/in-texas-abstinence-only-programs-may-contribute-to-teen-

pregnancies. Accessed 23 Oct 2018.

Stanger-Hall, Kathrin F., and David W. Hall. “Abstinence-Only Education and Teen

Pregnancy Rates: Why We Need Comprehensive Sex Education in the U.S.” PLOS ONE, Public

Library of Science, 14 Oct. 2011,

journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0024658. Accessed 23 Oct 2018.