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Comprehensive Sex Education

Comprehensive Sexual Education

In 2002, there were an estimated 750,000 unwanted teenage pregnancies and over 15,000 new cases of HIV among 15-21 year olds in the United States. Most of these cases occurred because the teens did not know how to use contraceptives and protection effectively when engaging in sexual behavior. The type of information a student receives from sexual education, if they receive any at all, can either prevent or accelerate the negative consequences of sexual activity. Comprehensive sexual education focuses on abstinence as the best method for avoiding pregnancies and STIs, but also teaches about condoms and contraception to avoid the risks of sexual activity. On the other hand, abstinence-only sexual education teaches abstinence as the only morally correct option for teenagers and usually censors information about contraception and condoms. This essay will present the reasons why comprehensive sexual education is a more persuasive argument including scientific studies that suggest comprehensive programs are more effective than the abstinence-only curriculum, acknowledging that young adults are going to engage in sexual activity regardless of if they are told to abstain, and the global impacts of sexual education. For these reasons, when examining both sides of the sexual education issue, it is clear that the arguments for comprehensive sexual education are much more persuasive than the arguments for abstinence-only education.
In a society that relies on scientific studies and analysis to support an argument, studies endorsing comprehensive sexual education are in integral part in the strength of this side of the issue. A report released by Advocates for Youth claimed that behavioral outcomes of comprehensive sexual education “have included delaying the initiation of sex as well as reducing the frequency of sex, the number of new partners, and the incidence of unprotected sex, and/or increasing the use of condoms and contraception...