Abstinence-only Sex Ed

[Jaymes]

My apologies if this has been posted before.

What do you guys think of abstinence-only sex ed? Is it right to say that abstinence is the only way to prevent pregnancy? Do these programs do more harm than good in the long run? Should teenagers really be taught how to prevent pregnancy?

On to my opinions.. I think abstinence-only sex ed is possibly the worst thing anyone could teach teenagers. "Don't have sex! Don't have sex!" ... Yea, like that'll work. They're TEENAGERS. Defying authority makes them "cool," and if authority says to not have sex they're probably going to run out and do it.

Fact is, teens are going to have sex. Period. It would be better for everyone if safe sex was taught; at least then the teens could properly protect themselves from both unwanted pregnancies and STDs.

 

[Sunstone]

I'm pro-choice but believe that society should work to minimalize the number of abortions performed. One of the most important ways society can do this is to teach kids to use contraceptives. It seems to me that abstinence-only sex education increases rather than decreases the number of teenage pregnancies, and consequently increases the demand for abortions.

 

[Hope]

You don't simply tell the teenagers, 'Don't have sex!' Of course just saying no wil only make them want to rebel. In my opinion, abstinence-only sex ed is the best thing to teach as long as it is taught right. It needs to be explained WHY abstinence is the best prevention. No matter how 'safe' safe sex is, it still is not a 100% guarantee against pregnancy and STDs. Only abstinance is. And if we are truly looking out for their best interests, we would explain to teens that abstinence is the best policy, and why it is the best policy. Because teens are influenced by peer pressure, and peer pressure usually makes 'having sex' seem cool, perhaps what needs to be shifted is the whole attitude toward sex in the first place. What if 'being a virgin' made one cool? If that was the case, what a change there would be! And if that shift was started as a result of proper abstinence-only sex ed, then more power to such education!

 

[standing_on_one_foot]

Well, teaching abstinence-only doesn't seem to work. It makes teenagers less likely to know how to protect themselves or have some sort of protection available to them if they do choose to have sex (and some always will, you really can't change that). I figure the best way is to teach that abstinence is the best choice until the teenagers are adults, but that if they decide to have sex they need to use protection.

 

[Green Gaia]

Abstinence-only sex ed is a BAD IDEA. Not only for schools, but for parents and churches (yes, I said churches) too. Kids are most likely going to have sex sometime in their life, why not be educated about it, completely? Knowing what do to, and how to protect themselves is NOT telling them to run out and have sex that night. It's time to get out of the dark ages way of thinking about sex and be honest about it. People ARE going to have sex, so let's be educated about it and our bodies BEFORE it happens.

 

[Sunstone]

I've heard that in many European countries it is simply assumed that people will begin having sex sometime in thier late teens and that the proper response to that fact is to prepare them for it by educating them in the use of contraceptives. If the Europeans can do that without their societies come crashing down, then why can't the Americans?

 

[Scott1]

With me, teaching about "safe" sex showed me how UNSAFE it really was.

Abstinence only is the ideal (from a father's point of view)..... why not encourage ideal behavior?

Should I tell my daughters that not stealing is the ideal, but if you really must, here's how not to get arrested?

Scott

 

[Jaymes]

With me, teaching about "safe" sex showed me how UNSAFE it really was.

Abstinence only is the ideal (from a father's point of view)..... why not encourage ideal behavior?

Should I tell my daughters that not stealing is the ideal, but if you really must, here's how not to get arrested?

Scott

Abstinence is a good thing to encourage, but showing someone how to be safe during sex isn't the same as teaching them how to rob a bank. Having sex isn't illegal..

 

[Ceridwen018]

I agree with you, Jensa. In the perfect world, we'd all practice abstinence until we were married, etc., but I don't think I need to remind anyone that this is not a perfect world, lol. I think that abstinence should absolutely be encouraged, but we can't forget about safe sex-ed. Kids are going to have sex whether they know about safety or not, so we may as well help them lessen their chances for disaster.

 

[Scott1]

Kids are going to have sex whether they know about safety or not, so we may as well help them lessen their chances for disaster.

I didn't. My wife didn't. My brother didn't. 2 outa 3 sisters didn't.
Why is a sweeping generalization frowned upon in every other topic but this one?

 

[Jaymes]

I didn't. My wife didn't. My brother didn't. 2 outa 3 sisters didn't.
Why is a sweeping generalization frowned upon in every other topic but this one?

Funny, I didn't see a generalization, seeing as how there wasn't an 'all,' 'most,' or even a 'majority' in that post.

 

[Ceridwen018]

Why is a sweeping generalization frowned upon in every other topic but this one?

It's a rather new post, I guess it just hadn't had time to be frowned upon yet. Good thing you got here. *muah!*

I didn't. My wife didn't. My brother didn't. 2 outa 3 sisters didn't.

That's very respectable--I seem to remeber you saying a long time ago that you were relatively new to Catholicism, so I can't be like "Yeah, well that's only because you grew up in a Catholic family..." (Did you grow up Christian, though? That would still work...) All I know, is that my statement holds true for most of the kids I know from surrounding public schools, as well as at my own Catholic High School. If they weren't being taught about safe-sex and STD's, there'd be a whole lot more babies...not that I don't like babies or anything.

 

[standing_on_one_foot]

I didn't. My wife didn't. My brother didn't. 2 outa 3 sisters didn't.
Why is a sweeping generalization frowned upon in every other topic but this one?

Pretty sure what they meant was some kids. Obviously not all kids are going to.

And sex is a natural inclination, and something most people are going to do at some time or another. Robbing a bank, on the other hand, isn't. Plus, in the right place at the right time, sex isn't a bad thing. Robbing a bank is. Bit of difference there

Encouraging ideals is good. I'm all for that. I'm completely for teaching kids that abstinence is the best possible choice until they're mature enough. But forgetting about the reality that not everyone will listen doesn't help. Combing the two's probably the best thing.

 

[Pah]

With me, teaching about "safe" sex showed me how UNSAFE it really was.

Abstinence only is the ideal (from a father's point of view)..... why not encourage ideal behavior?

Should I tell my daughters that not stealing is the ideal, but if you really must, here's how not to get arrested?

Scott

I would no more suggest that you are wrong, Scott, than I would impugn the relationship you have with your children. The parent-child relationship is crucial to solving the problems of teen aged pregnancy and abortion from a social standpoint let alone the morality a parent wishes to instill in children. I wish you success.

Related to "abstinence-only sex eduction" is the trend of teen age pledges to abstain from sex until marriage. There are studies that focused on those teens. It was found that the pledge was contributory in delaying sexual intercourse for a number of years (2-4 or in that range, I believe) but that when intercourse commenced in a strongly committed relationship there was a higher percentage of pregnancy and an even higher incidence of STD transmission than in those that did not take the pledge and started earlier. This would go to show that in public education a balanced approach would be better with a very heavy home involvement with the child and parent.

How may this be folded into your relationship and your duties? To expand/alter your example, you might teach the techniques of "breaking and entering" with the admonition that it only be used when their home or car keys are lost and never the neighbor's home or car. Better yet, put an extra key under the welcome mat and fender. When the key is used, it would be an excellent opportunity to continue the dialogue. I'm sure that whatever you say or not say will be good.

-pah-

 

[civilcynic]

One of the most important ways society can do this is to teach kids to use contraceptives. It seems to me that abstinence-only sex education increases rather than decreases the number of teenage pregnancies, and consequently increases the demand for abortions.

Ah...but therein lies the problem....according to anti-choice advocates who are the most avid abstinence-only advocates, contraceptives like the pill or IUD should be banned....they terminate pregnancies and therefore in using them one is having an abortion.

As for condoms....well, take a close look at what abstinence -only education says about condoms...According to these programs, condoms do nothing to prevent pregnancy and/or std's.

Although abstinence is the only 100% method of preventing pregnancy and avoiding std's is a given but abstinence is also the method that fails to be put into practice the most.

Abstinence-only education is fear-based and fails to provide any useful sexuality education that would prepare our teens for their adult life. Most teens will, eventually have sex, whether inside or outside the context of marriage. How is it that we insist on teaching our students calculus or a foreign language which most will never use once they graduate but we are unwilling to teach them the facts and the life skills about sexuality which will be an integral part of their adult life?

 

[Ardhanariswar]

ya, the abstinence thing is not working. just provide free condoms and other contraceptives. you can preach all you want, but ultimitly when the couple is sharing a moment, they would much rather take advantage of it.