UTICA COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

ABSTINENCE ONLY SEX

EDUCATION
Victoria Nikollaj

Victoria Nikollaj
Leidecker 1st
English 12
May 3, 2016
Abstinence only sex education
You cannot tell people what to do but you can give them the
knowledge to make the right decisions on their own. Abstinence only
education is a type of sex education that teaches not having sex outside of
marriage and nothing else. It excludes other types of sexual and
reproductive health education. This impacts our society in a negative way,
teens need to be informed.
Admittedly, many people would argue that abstinence only education
is the best kind. Heather Cirmo, a spokeswoman for The Family Research
Council, believes that if children and teens are taught that chastity is a
normal thing and something they are supposed to follow then they will. A
statement she makes is why do we communicate a no excuses message
about drugs and alcohol but when it comes to sex we have a different
stance? Sex is a natural thing, drugs and alcohol arent even in the same
vicinity. Chastity is not the normal thing and most likely never will be for
teens. Teenage hormones are crazy, its impossible to just shove them away

and shame them. Many may find this method of teaching as a positive but
really it causes more harm than good.
Abstinence only education should not be taught because it leaves
teens more uninformed and at a greater risk for dangerous situations such as
STDs and pregnancy since they will not learn about condoms, birth control,
or safe sex. It is a proven fact that these programs do not delay sexual
initiation or lower rates of pregnancy, STDs or STIs, according to a ten year
long government study done by Planned Parenthood. The Institution of
Medicine called for termination of these programs because they represent
poor fiscal and public health policy. If programs like these deny young
people life-saving information because they withhold and misinform, why
would anyone support them?
Even though this method of teaching has never been proven effective,
over the last 25 years congress spent nearly two billion dollars on abstinence
until marriage programs. Representative Henry A. Waxman released a report
showing that over 80% of federally funded abstinence only programs use
information that distort information about contraceptives, misrepresent risks
of abortion, blur religion and science, treat stereotypes about boys and girls
as facts, and contain basic scientific errors. Some would speculate that they
even violate separation of church and state. A recent 60 minutes episode
showed that some may even be using these programs to promote
Christianity. Even president Obama has taken a stance on this issue. He
proposed a federal budget for 2017 to cut all federal funding for abstinence

only programs, cutting ten million dollars per year to the department of
health and human services that supports such programs. The SIECUS says
this will secure the right to quality sexuality education for young people. All
teens should have the right to a true education.
In a federal study of 13 of the most popular abstinence only programs
that are being taught in schools right now, only two of them had accurate
information about sex. Without accurate facts it becomes impossible for
teens to make accurate decisions. Up to 70% of teens in these programs still
have their first sexual encounter before the age of 20 or before marriage.
Virginity pledgers have seemed to have found loopholes to keep their
pledges intact by engaging in risky oral or anal sex. These can be even more
dangerous and cause even worse threats to health. They also neglect
wearing condoms when they do begin to have vaginal sex because they
arent informed about them, according to a study from Peter Bearman at
Columbia University.
Ultimately, abstinence only education can be harmful and it is not
worth all of the funding thats been put toward it. While it should be known
that abstinence is the most effective method for preventing pregnancy and
STDs, it shouldnt be the only thing known. We need a comprehensive sex
education that covers the other important topics like birth control, condoms,
STDs, everything- not just one thing. If every program followed a
comprehensive approach sex education would be more useful and keep

everyone safer. Give teens the true facts then let them decide for
themselves.

Works sited
Advocates for Youth. "The Truth about Abstinence-only Programs." Advocates
for Youth. Advocates for Youth, 2008. Web. 02 May 2016.
Livni, Ephrat. "Study: Abstinence-Only Sex Ed Up." ABC News. ABC News
Network. Web. 02 May 2016.
Lombardo, Crystal. "Pros and Cons of Abstinence Only Education - Vision
Launch." Vision Launch. Vision launch, 20 July 2015. Web. 02 May
2016.
Planned Parenthood Vice President. "Study Proves Abstinence-Only Programs
Are Ineffective: Great Northwest." Study Proves Abstinence-Only
Programs Are Ineffective: Great Northwest. Planned Parenthood, 12
Nov. 2007. Web. 02 May 2016.

WITW Staff. "President Obama Cuts Funding for All Abstinence-only Sex
Education." Women in the World in Association with the New York
Times WITW. Womenintheworld, 18 Feb. 2016. Web. 02 May 2016.