Abstinence-Only Education is Not Enough

The teenage pregnancy rate in the United States is the highest of all developed countries and the rate of teens with STD's continues to rise. Pregnancy and STD's stem from unprotected sex, a highly controversial issue. At the heart of the controversy is abstinence-only education, a form of sex education that provides no information regarding contraceptives and promotes abstaining from sexual activity. Some people, such as mother Emily Pelino believe that, "it's clear that our students need more information (Blanton)." While others believe that abstinence-only education protects the, "sure and safe boundary of abstinence until and faithfulness within marriage (Focus)."

It is important to understand what is and is not taught in abstinence-only educational programs. Abstinence-only education, as outlined by Title V, must provide information on the psychological and health gains of abstaining from sexual activity. It must also teach that abstinence is expected from school-aged children and is the only certain way to prevent pregnancy and STD's. It teaches that sexual activity is a mutually monogamous and faithful relationship in the context of marriage, that sexual activity outside of marriage is harmful and that bearing a child out of wedlock has severe effects. Drugs and alcohol are also discussed as increasing one's vulnerability to sexual advances. Finally, the programs discuss the importance of attaining complete self-sufficiency before engaging in sexual activity.

The curriculum of abstinence-only education looks stark in comparison to the curriculum of a full-disclosure comprehensive sexual education program, which teaches anatomy, biology, STI's, psychological and physical risks of pre-marital pregnancy, and sexual health information (Valenti). Despite the limited nature of the abstinence-only sexual education programs, when compared to the comprehensive ones, abstinence-only remains a very popular form of sexual education, particularly throughout the "bible belt" (Valenti).

But if abstinence-only education is so popular and so fought for, what is wrong with it? According to Rob Stein of the Washington Post, students who pledge abstinence are, "less likely to use condoms and other forms of birth control" (Stein). Sarah Brown of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy says, "What have we gained if we only encourage