Lamb 1

Lynzee Lamb
Dr. Carey
ENG 102-6DL
4 December 2008

The Argument for Real Sexual Education

In today’s public schools, the topic of sex education draws a line between parents

and teachers alike. There are those taking the side of abstinence education, arguing that

sex outside of a martial relationship risks the physical and psychological health of school

aged adolescents. The other side argues that abstinence education is not grounded in

science and ignores the behaviors of teens, denying them information to make safe

choices.

Abstinence education is currently the predominating form of sexual education in

America’s public school system, with 92% of secondary and 96% of high schools having

a required abstinence class. (Duberstein Lindbergh, et. al. 1). The government budget has

risen from the $10 million dollar funding in 1997 to $167 million in 2005 (Duberstein

Lindbergh, et. al. 1). This money comes from state tax dollars, where a state choosing to

get funding for abstinence education pays forward a percentage to get the rest in return.

Many states no longer request funding for abstinence only education, as scientific reports

and teen pregnancy statistics come forward proving that this education method is not

keeping adolescents from participating in sexual behavior, preventing pregnancy, or STI

conception.
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A little under half of the states currently teach curriculum focused on these

themes: premarital sex is abnormal for school age teens and is the only way to prevent

unplanned pregnancy and STIs. The curriculum materials, on average, divide its material

with 50% focusing on abstaining from sex, 20% to character development, 13% on

healthy sexuality, 10% on STI prevention, and four percent on preventing pregnancy.

While most are thorough in the promotion of abstinence, avoiding peer pressure, and how

to refuse advances, more than half ignore the topics of sexual physical development,

masturbation, sexual orientation, or sexual thoughts (Wilson, et. al. 4).

Arguably, the worst injustice that abstinence only education permits is the

promotion of gender-biased roles on youth. Wilson, et al. published a study of abstinence-

only curriculum, and the authors state“…the outward direction of sperm cells is

supported by the emphasis on an outward direction in the male’s personality…The ovum,

by contrast, is receptive and inward directed…the female personality is generally more

receptive and inward than the male’s” (Wilson, et. al. 7).

Despite the education’s flaws, politicians continue to come forward declaring the

validity of an educational program that denies thorough information on contraceptives,

STIs, pregnancy prevention, and modern gender roles. Regardless of the fact that the

United States ties Hungary for the highest abortion rate of any developed country,

politicians claim abstinence education is working (“Rep. Sali“ par. 1).

Sexually active teenagers are not the minority. Approximately half of all

American teens between the ages of 15-19 had sex at least once, with a third currently
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active. A quarter of adolescents between 11-14 have sex with their partners regularly

(Perry 1). Teens make up the largest percentage of new STI infections, more than any

other age group, with a total of 9 million each year. We have over half the teens having

sex, 9 million of them contracting STIs, and almost a million girls between 10-19

becoming pregnant (Lackey par. 2). Approximately 29% of these pregnancies end in

termination (“Facts on American Teens‘” par. 7). Those who don’t engage in intercourse

may have engaged in oral sex or other sexual behavior besides intercourse to maintain a

virgin status or because they believe it is not as risky (Perrin, Bernecki DeJoy 1).

Teens begin having sex for a variety of reasons. These include assumptions that

their peers are active, inactively participating or hostile parents, lack of hobbies, or the

feeling of love while being in a committed relationship. Negatively applied factors, such

as parenting, associate with early sexual activity, such as before the age of fifteen (Perry

1).

Contraceptive use among teens is hardly admirable. A study in 2004 surveyed

over 20,000 high school students on their attitudes towards sex, contraception and

pregnancy. Of those that were sexually active, only 57% used contraceptive routinely,

followed by 16% who used it sometimes. Nearly a third, 27%, use no contraception at all.

The percentage of students who had no opinion on whether they became pregnant or not

were most likely to not use contraception (Bruckner 8). Still, majority of teens who use

contraception rely on the condom, and almost all teen girls have at least used a condom

or the pill once (Adams Hillard 3). The fact remains that the 27% not currently using
 Lamb 4

protection, if they continue, has a 90% chance of becoming pregnant that year (“Facts on

American Teens‘” par. 2).

Adams Hillard provides examples of how students judge when using

contraceptives are important, based on the status of their current relationship:

Consistency of contraceptive use in adolescents has been correlated with

the characteristics of their relationship with their partner; the odds

of consistent use (versus inconsistent or no use) have been found to

be higher for adolescents in a "liked" relationship versus a "romantic"

relationship. Couples who had discussed contraception with their partner

and who engaged in more "couple-like" activities (e.g., thinking of

themselves as a couple, meeting partners' parents, going out together) were

more likely to use contraception. (Adams Hillard 5)

While pregnancy rates are high, they are also disproportional between ethnic

groups, majority being Black and Hispanic females, with 13.4% and 13.1%, respectively

(“Facts on American Teens’” par. 5). This is reflected in a survey taken in California

through SIECUS among parents. African-American, Filipino, and Latino parents all

responded with teen pregnancy as their primary concern. This is a high contrast compared

to Caucasian responders, who only replied with a concern of 59% compared to other

issues (“Voices of California“ 1).

Of teens that do become pregnant, they are less likely than their childless peers to

graduate high school, with 30% terminating the pregnancy. There were over 200,000
 Lamb 5

abortions among teens ages 15-19 in 2002, most with the approval of their parents

(“Facts on American Teens’” par. 7).

These statistics probably disappoint or scare current parents. It’s likely they feel

their children get all the education on sex and contraception they need, but the United

States federal guidelines for sex education changed over the decade. Teenagers, now

submitted to abstinence-only guidelines, learn very little about birth control. A study

found, compared to 1995, only 66% of males have received any kind of education about

birth control, compared to a previous 81%. With the AIDS scare pushing forward sex

education, only two percent of educators taught abstinence-only in 1988. That statistic is

up 96% of high schools teaching it as a requirement (Duberstein Lindbergh, et. al. 1).

The study also found this change had hit certain groups harder than others, shown

in the following statistics: “In 2002, fewer than 60% of black males, males living below

200% poverty and males living in non-metropolitan areas had received any formal

instruction about birth control methods. Among sexually experienced males in these

groups, no more than half had received instruction about birth control prior to first sex”

(Duberstein Lindberg, et. al. 7).

The correlation between lack of contraceptive instruction, the probability of

pregnancy when contraception is not used, and the ensuing abortion rate all become tied

together in a string of cause and effect, securely latched to the curriculum of abstinence

education. Abstinence-only sexual education provides no substantial benefit in prevention

of STIs and teen pregnancy and must be replaced with a thorough, informative sexual
 Lamb 6

education program.

Abstinence education is funded by the government, with a curriculum established

under Title V. Title V lays out the requirements for abstinence-education. Curriculum

must meet these standards for funding: teach social, psychological and health gains

through abstinence, that sexual activity outside of marriage is the not normal for

adolescents in school, only abstinence can protect against pregnancy and STIs, sex in a

mutually exclusive married relationship is the standard for all people, and participating in

sex outside of marriage is likely to have adverse psychological and physiological effects

(“Block Grant“, 1997). This law specifically states an emphasis on abstinence over any

kind of birth control, while its other points are unreasonable, as supported by previous

statistics.

An evaluation of 21 abstinence-only education curriculums for middle school

students found that majority of materials, such as textbooks, placed an average of 14% of

its content on STIs and pregnancy prevention. Unsurprisingly, the focus on abstinence

only birth control and sex only in the context of marriage were the items focused on

consistently throughout material choices. Topics like masturbation, sexual values,

development of the human body though puberty and sexual identity are primarily ignored

(Wilson, et. al. 6).

One would assume because abstinence education is the current mode of sexual

education that parents approve of it. This is entirely untrue. Support for information on

contraceptives to protect the sexually active and those who are not is overwhelming.
 Lamb 7

Perrin and Bernecki DeJoy state in their study, “However, ninety-three percent of

Americans support the teaching of sexuality in schools; 92% believe that such education

should tell young people who are sexually active to use contraception; and 83% of adults

believe that teenagers should receive information about protecting themselves from

pregnancy and STDs even if they are not yet sexually active” (Perrin, Bernecki DeJoy 4).

This is not only among adults, but students as well. The editorial board for “Sex, Etc.”, a

publication by teens, talks about what they want from their sexual education. One teen,

Lalitha Chandrasekher, states her opinion:

Don't teach abstinence-only! Teens are more driven to do what they're told

not to do. If they are taught only to abstain from sex, they'll be left to

wonder what it's like and will be more likely to indulge in sexual

activity. Give teens the most comprehensive, honest, and accurate

information on contraception, STIs, abortion, pregnancies, teen

parenting, and sex regrets. (Chandrasekher, et. al. 1)

Most teens answered with similar requests. The denial of comprehensive sexual

education is not going without protest. A teen group called ASsET in California is

campaigning for the right to comprehensive sex education. Like education provided in

the 1990s, they stress the importance of abstinence being taught as an option, but

anatomy, feelings, and contraception focused on as well.

Other than a disregard to the wants of teens and parents and an unrealistic

curriculum standard, there are constitutional, moral, and efficiency flaws within the
 Lamb 8

abstinence-only approach. First and foremost, abstinence-only has much less to do with

public health and a lot more to do with theological components. Backed by lobbying

evangelicals, abstinence-education promotes scare tactics and faulty logic. One example

from a curriculum for middle school students states: “Couples who use condoms for birth

control experience a first-year failure rate of about 15 percent in preventing pregnancies.

This means that over a period of five years, there could be a 50 percent chance or higher

of getting pregnant with condoms used as birth control.” (Chamberlain 3) What the

textbook fails to mention is that these statistics are based on inconsistent use, not condom

breakage. (Chamberlain 3)

Other examples instill fear of AIDS and HPV being unavoidable regardless of

contraceptive protection, even when statistics show otherwise. Supporters of this

education initiative try showing support by quoting the small percentage drop in teen

pregnancy, but no formal studies have concluded that this was due to abstinence

education’s influence between 1994 and 2006. Contrarily, most of the credit was given to

increased contraceptive use. After 2006, the teen pregnancy rate began to rise once more

(Kotz 1).

Abstinence-only education promotes a dangerous agenda of gender roles as well.

Examples include the idea of the female sex organs as being receiving and introverted,

and so an accurate representation of the feminine personality. It focuses on the girl’s

responsibility to be chaste, so as not to promote the male’s wild urges. Supposedly, this

can be achieved through wearing modest clothing. This statement infers doing otherwise,
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is asking for it (Chamberlain 1).

Virginity pledges are another staple of abstinence education. Yet again, studies

find that those who took a virginity pledge, are less likely to use contraception when they

do initiate sexual behavior. The pledges are unlikely to stave off sexual conduct unless

students feel they participated on their own accord and not through coercion. Chaloner

writes in her article “While the virginity pledges do delay the onset of sexual intercourse

among teenagers for an average of 18 months, many of these teenagers eventually do

have sex, and when they do, they are less likely to use contraception effectively or use

contraception at all. (Chaloner par. 8)

Despite faulty logic, unsubstantiated facts, fear tactics, promotion of ‘traditional’

gender roles, and disagreement with the wants of the general public, why is the

government dropping $100 million per year in funding? It can partially be attributed to

far right wing lobbyists and politicians. Representative Bill Sali from Idaho is quoted as

saying: “However, abstinence education seeks to educate without engaging in the explicit

demonstrations that most parents and school communities, especially those in my

District, reject as distasteful and in some cases a violation of moral and religious

convictions.” (“Rep. Sali“ par. 4)

One has to wonder what particular demonstrations would be taught in a public

classroom that could be distasteful? Regardless of Rep. Sali’s opinion on whether human

anatomy or putting a condom on a banana are distasteful, as a member of the United

States government, the violation of religious convictions comment is particularly

 Lamb 10

interesting. When taken into consideration that the public schools, along with all other

government establishments, are not required to adhere to any religious convictions thanks

to the United States Constitution. Rep. Sali is an example of the reason why our

government currently funds an education that the majority does not want and does not

work.

Furthermore, he relies on the results of Dr. Stan Weed, the government’s chosen

expert for evaluations of effectiveness in abstinence-only education. Dr. Weed is also a

lobbyist with connections to other abstinence groups (Chamberlain 6). It can be said then,

that relying on his evaluations as unbiased is a joke.

Schools could continue this education initiative despite study findings and

statistics, but they are not. When a study performed by Mathematica came forward,

showing that students who participated in an abstinence only study had sex as the same

rates as those who did not, many states threw in the towel. (Freking 1) Only 33 states are

still accepting government funding for the curriculum. Those who quit cite the survey as

proof, and tax dollars should not be wasted.

For Colorado, the study results sealed the decision to get out of the

program. Dr. Ned Calonge, the state's chief medical officer, said

Mathematica's methods were the gold standard for scientific studies.

‘To show no benefit compared to nothing. That was striking,’ Calonge

said. ‘These are tax dollars that are going for no useful purpose, and it

would not be responsible for us to take those dollars.’” (Freking 1)

 Lamb 11

It is undeniable, through the insurmountable number of surveys, studies, polls,

and facts, that the American people do not want abstinence-only education. As the

governmental body for this country, it is a politician’s job to meet the needs of the public,

especially in the cases concerning young students’ health. Teens’ health should not be an

ideological war between religious interest groups, but instead a concern on the basis of

health and wellness.

It is irresponsible for our government to risk infection and teen pregnancy by

promoting ignorance and fear while denying reality. Comprehensive sex education is

nearly unanimously supported by parents and adolescents, and this is reason enough for it

to be implemented. Increased contraceptive use is the credited reason for lowering teen

pregnancy, not a change in sexual habits. Not teaching correct information about the

usage of contraceptive will continue to raise teen pregnancy and STI conception, and hurt

America’s youth. It is only now, with undeniable evidence, that the public can hope that

the government listens to the people, instead of a harmful minority agenda.

 Lamb 12

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 Lamb 13

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 Lamb 14

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 Lamb 16

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 Lamb 18

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 Lamb 20

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 Lamb 21

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 Lamb 22

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