Back in junior high and high school, the sex education I received boiled down to one thing: don’t have sex until you’re married. However, studies show many teens don’t wait until marriage. Even in the most religious schools, some of the students partake in sexual activity beyond kissing. Just telling teens to abstain does not cut down teen pregnancy and STD rates, which has led many to consider that mandatory sex education would be a boon for high school students.
Recently, there has been controversy over a bill that would make sex education mandatory in public schools. Those for mandatory sex education argue it is against the basic rights of students to withhold such important information from them. The website for Advocates for Youth says that, “Comprehensive sex education is effective at assisting young people to make healthy decisions about sex and to adopt healthy sexual behaviors” and the Society for Adolescent Medicine claims, “abstinence-only programs threaten fundamental human rights to health, information and life.” Studies published in the Journal of Adolescent Health in 2007 wrote, “It appears that talking with adolescents about sex – before they first have sex- seems to be what is important.” Using the strongest wording of all, state representative Patricia Smith said lack of instruction was “a form of child abuse.”
While that statement seems a bit strong, I believe this bill should be passed and that it would be beneficial in the long run. I have known people as old as eighteen who still did not have an adequate understanding of how sex, pregnancy or STDs actually work. I have also known people who got most of their information about sex from the internet. While the internet can be a treasure trove of knowledge, obviously not everything on the web is factually correct. Information of this importance needs to be taught in a controlled setting without bias or sugarcoating, and by a professional setting without bias or sugarcoating, and by a professional who knows their stuff.
Much of the controversy over this bill comes from religious groups, who believe sex should only exist between married couples. They don’t want children and teens from religious families to receive instruction that would go against the sexual morality taught by their faith. Being from a Catholic background, I understand that contraception use is the biggest issue at hand. For many these issues are a big deal and I can sympathize with their feelings to a degree.
But I cannot push aside the fact that it is more dangerous for young people to remain in the dark about sex. Plus most sex education programs do not force a “liberal agenda” upon students, telling them they should be out having sex or that they have to use contraceptives. They are simply teaching safe sex methods and information about the human body. If religious parents are still adamant about their kids’ faiths somehow being corrupted, then have special exemptions provided. After all, not everyone student is religious and not every religious family is against contraception.
As I said before, you cannot stop every teen out there from engaging in sexual activity. Scare tactics and abstain-only programs will not stop everyone. So wouldn’t it be better if they were more informed on these matters? Isn’t knowledge power? Are we really doing teenagers any favors by withholding important information from them, information that might save lives from being destroyed by unsafe sex?