stop making titles

I’m not particularly proud of this paper, but I thought I’d post it anyway.  If anyone knows how to copy in essays so that they’ll keep their paragraph breaks, puhlease tell me.

Chanel Brown

Dr. Shean

Biology 100

24 February 2006

Abstinence-only Education and the Highest Teen Pregnancy Rate in the (Developed) World

           

           Most teenagers in America are uneducated about healthy sexuality because of a very vocal minority who promote abstinence-only sex education.  Unfortunately, the Bush administration has recently approved sex education plans created by these groups to be taught in high schools, and has stated that their position supports the teaching of abstinence-only, and opposes teaching family planning in high school.  These education plans operate on the naive and unrealistic notion that teenagers are not sexually active and that providing them information about birth control would essentially be giving students permission to have sex.  Furthermore, abstinence-only programs are full of misinformation and inappropriate scare tactics.  Abstinence-only education plans have failed to delay early sexual activity and equip students with the information they need to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

            According to Planned Parenthood at www.plannedparenthood.org, about 1 million teenagers in the
US become pregnant each year, and most of them are accidental.  The negative effects of teenage pregnancy on individuals and society are well known: Teenagers who become pregnant are more likely to drop out of high school, live in poverty, depend on welfare, and their babies are often unhealthy.  Studies conducted by the Alan Guttmacher Institute have found that 4 million teens in the
US are infected with an STI each year.

            These high rates in teenage pregnancy and STIs in the
US are the result of a lack of sexual education among teenagers.  Many teenagers learn about sexuality mainly through experience, and the misconceptions and “myths” many of them hold are shocking.  High school students in
Chicago who appeared in a documentary investigating adolescent sexuality aired on MTV a few years ago believe that a girl can’t get pregnant if she has sex standing up with high heels on.  Some teenage girls believe that your boyfriend can sense when you’re ovulating and won’t get you pregnant.  Many teens have very little knowledge of the correct usage of condoms, hence the statement made to my brother by one of his friends in high school, “You can feel way better if you cut the tip of the condom off.”  Not only do many teenagers not know that they can get birth control confidentially and for free or at a reduced price in many states, but too many teenagers don’t know how to use birth control. 

            Abstinence-only programs reflect an attitude in our country that the problem that needs solving is the immoral act of having sex outside of marriage.  Imposing morals and beliefs onto teens does not prevent sexual activity, and studies have shown that when students are taught to have negative beliefs and feelings about sex, they are less likely to use contraception.

According to a study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, “… ‘abstinence only’ or ‘abstinence until marriage’ as a single option for adolescents are scientifically and ethically flawed.  Although abstinence from vaginal and anal intercourse is theoretically fully protective against pregnancy and disease, in actual practice, abstinence-only programs often fail to prevent these outcomes.”  The study found that abstinence-only programs have not been proven to be effective in postponing sexual activity.   The authors of the study also assert that abstinence-only programs are based on moral and religious foundations, and are often full of misleading opinions and inaccurate information about contraceptives.   

To prevent teen pregnancy and STIs, sexual education should promote abstinence and delaying sexual activity until later in life, but should also provide accurate birth control and STI prevention information (commonly referred to as comprehensive programs):

            “‘Balanced and realistic’ sexuality education programs that encourage students to postpone sex until they are older, but also promote safer sex practices for those who choose to become sexually active, have been proven effective at delaying first intercourse and increasing use of contraception among sexually active youth. These programs have not been shown to initiate early sexual activity or to increase levels of sexual activity or numbers of sexual partners among sexually active youth”(Berne & Huberman).

            Proponents of comprehensive health programs suggest that medically accurate sexual education should start in kindergarten and “continue in an age appropriate manner” into 12^th grade.  A compelling reason would be the early ages at which people are becoming sexually active:  7.2 percent of students in the
US report having sex before the age of 13, 42.5 percent by tenth grade, and 60.9 percent by 12^th grade (CDC 1998).

            The recent decline of teenage pregnancies in the
US in the last few years is due to increased use of contraceptives by sexually active teens.  A report done by the Alan Guttmacher Institute found that sexually active teens using contraceptives accounted for 80% of the decline in teenage pregnancies. 

            Evidence to support comprehensive sexual education can be found in countries such as The Netherlands, where medically accurate sex education begins in preschool and continues throughout their education, and who have the lowest teen birth rate in the world.  Sex education in
Germany is comprehensive and their teenage pregnancy rate is four times lower than ours, and its AIDS rate is 11.5 times lower.

 

            An advocate of comprehensive sexual education programs, AVERT, a charity for HIV and AIDS, asserts that, “All the evidence clearly shows that the best way to progress HIV prevention through sex education is through comprehensive programmes. Despite generating considerable debate and political support, particularly in the
United States, abstinence education represents, primarily, a minority moral movement rather than an effective response to the sexual health needs and behaviour of young people.”

                Teaching abstinence is an important tool in preventing unintended teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection.  Controversy arises when abstinence is the only method taught.  Abstinence-only programs have little evidence to support their efficacy, and much of the evidence fails to meet scientific standards.  They are based on and supported by religious and moral values.  In contrast, comprehensive programs have been shown to delay the onset of sexual activity, to lower the rate of STIs and unwanted teenage pregnancy, and are supported by many health care professionals and professional researchers.  To lower the rate of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections requires that as a society we change our attitudes regarding adolescent sexuality, and provide teens with medically accurate information about sexual health.

Works Cited

AGI – Alan Guttmacher Institute.  (1995).  “Issues in Brief: Law Makers Grapple with Parents’

            Role in Teen Access to Reproductive Health Care.”

Berne, Linda, Barbara Huberman.  (1999).  “European Approaches to Adolescent Sexual

            Behavior and Responsibility.”

Brown, Kenneth.  Personal interview.  Feb. 2006.

CDC – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  (1998).  “Youth Risk Behavior

            Surveillance.”  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 47 (199   1-89.

Lyon, Marueen, Jennifer Rogers, Daniel Summers.  “Abstinence-only Education Policies and

            Programs:  A Position Paper of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.”  Journal of

            Adolescent Health.  38 (2006) 83-87.

MTV News Investigates.  MTV.  2000.

www.avert.org.  2006.  Feb. 2006.  <www.avert.org/aidsyoun.htm>.

www.plannedparenthood.org.  2006.  Feb 2006.

            <www.plannedparenthood.org/pp2/portal/files/portal/medicalinfo/teensexualhealth/fact

            teen-pregnancy.htm>.