One of the most critical debates in education today is sex-ed. Some argue that when discussing the "birds and the bees" in school, abstinence is the only acceptable message for students. Others disagree, maintaining that since contraception has a high rate of effectiveness, that the so- called 'safe-sex' initiative can be advanced to children. To examine the issue fairly, we must first establish two facts: First, the only way to prevent pregnancy 100% of the time is to remain abstinent. Secondly, condoms may be effective at preventing the contraction of sexually transmitted diseases. However, "may", has been the focus of intense scientific study, as reports of accidental pregnancy (even through the typical use of contraception) have doubled over the last ten years (Planned Parenthood). Many experts in academia and journalism agree that there is, "insufficient evidence to support the thesis that 'safe-sex' education is really all that safe." ( New York Times, 9/15/02) "Condoms may be effective in preventing transmission of HIV/AIDS, but beyond that they do not protect adequately against other sexually transmitted diseases," said Claude Allen, deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Much scientific research has been devoted to this conclusion. According the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an office of the Health Department, "condoms are 86% effective in protecting against the transmission of HIV/AIDS." The risk is similar to a game of Russian roulette, in which someone has a one in six chance of both contracting the terminal disease and finding the bullet. A recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) study reported "when condoms are typically used, they are 82% effective in preventing pregnancy." This rate of ineffectiveness is ahead of the teen pregnancy rate, and may suggest that as condom use increases, the teen pregnancy rate will rise. The myth of condom invincibility is further refuted by a University of Kentucky School of Medicine study regarding the use of condoms to protect against Human Pampilomavirus (HPV), an incurable disease linked to cervical cancer. The findings concluded that condoms are largely ineffective in preventing the contraction of HPV due to the fact that condoms do not cover areas of the skin conducive to transmitting the disease during sexual intercourse. The study also found that 40%-45% of college coeds have tested positive for the virus, suggesting that abstinence may be the only effective means of prevention. The CDC has declared HPV 'pandemic' in that one in six women will contract the disease in their lifetimes.
If people don't have sex, their risk of becoming pregnant and contracting potentially fatal STDs becomes nonexistent. The pro-contraception crowd ignores this subtle and under-reported statistic. Professors from Columbia and Yale universities published research that stated "adolescents who pledge to remain abstinent actually delayed their first sexual intercourse by three years longer than teens that did not make such a pledge." Even those institutions whose agendas advance contraception over abstinence have at times, been forced to admit that abstinence is the most effective means of sexual education. The Alan Guttmacher Institute, the research arm of Planned Parenthood released a study revealing that in an Atlanta public schools 8th grade abstinence-only program, the student body demonstrated a reduced sexual initiation rate of 67% for boys, and 85% for girls. Furthermore, the Physicians Consortium, a coalition of over 2,000 doctors from all around the nation, published a report in the Journal of Adolescent and Family Health examining the drop in teen pregnancy rate between 1991 and 1995. The study concluded "abstinence accounted for 100% of the decline in teen birth rate and 67% of the reduction in the teen pregnancy rate in single adolescents."
Not only is abstinence extremely beneficial when implemented through state-funded programs, the promotion of contraception is actually counterproductive to the goals of spreading sexual awareness. An article in the highly regarded parenting magazine, Family Planning Perspectives cited that parents can do two things in the course of ensuring sexual education, to double their teens chance of remaining abstinent: enrolling them in abstinence-only sexual education, and avoiding the discussion of birth control altogether. By perpetuating the use of the phrase safe-sex', educators and government officials are serving to detriment adolescent health in that they deliver the fallacy of the existence of 100% safe sexual activity.
As the effectiveness of contraception is examined, more holes begin to appear in the conception contingency. Even the CDC has commented that, "the lack of condom research indicates that more study is required, not that latex condoms don't work. If "more research is required," as the CDC admits, why don't government health officials call a moratorium on safe sex education, which basis relies solely on the efficacy of condom use, until the research is completed? Why risk the health and safety of teenagers through botched and misleading education?
If people don't have sex, their risk of becoming pregnant and contracting potentially fatal STDs becomes nonexistent. The pro-contraception crowd ignores this subtle and under-reported statistic. Professors from Columbia and Yale universities published research that stated "adolescents who pledge to remain abstinent actually delayed their first sexual intercourse by three years longer than teens that did not make such a pledge." Even those institutions whose agendas advance contraception over abstinence have at times, been forced to admit that abstinence is the most effective means of sexual education. The Alan Guttmacher Institute, the research arm of Planned Parenthood released a study revealing that in an Atlanta public schools 8th grade abstinence-only program, the student body demonstrated a reduced sexual initiation rate of 67% for boys, and 85% for girls. Furthermore, the Physicians Consortium, a coalition of over 2,000 doctors from all around the nation, published a report in the Journal of Adolescent and Family Health examining the drop in teen pregnancy rate between 1991 and 1995. The study concluded "abstinence accounted for 100% of the decline in teen birth rate and 67% of the reduction in the teen pregnancy rate in single adolescents."
Not only is abstinence extremely beneficial when implemented through state-funded programs, the promotion of contraception is actually counterproductive to the goals of spreading sexual awareness. An article in the highly regarded parenting magazine, Family Planning Perspectives cited that parents can do two things in the course of ensuring sexual education, to double their teens chance of remaining abstinent: enrolling them in abstinence-only sexual education, and avoiding the discussion of birth control altogether. By perpetuating the use of the phrase safe-sex', educators and government officials are serving to detriment adolescent health in that they deliver the fallacy of the existence of 100% safe sexual activity.
As the effectiveness of contraception is examined, more holes begin to appear in the conception contingency. Even the CDC has commented that, "the lack of condom research indicates that more study is required, not that latex condoms don't work. If "more research is required," as the CDC admits, why don't government health officials call a moratorium on safe sex education, which basis relies solely on the efficacy of condom use, until the research is completed? Why risk the health and safety of teenagers through botched and misleading education?
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