The Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine reports that 82% of U.S. adults favor a comprehensive approach to sex education that teaches students about contraception and safe-sex, rather than an abstinence-only curricula (Seagren). Despite this demand, the federal government continues to pour millions of dollars into abstinence-only education, which focuses on the consequences of premarital sex, and emphasizes that the only acceptable form of sexuality is between one married man and woman. Many people support abstinence-only education because they believe that abstinence is the only way of preventing pregnancy and that teaching teens about sexual health sends them the message the message that is acceptable for them to have sex.
On the other hand, critics of abstinence programs point to the discriminatory nature of these programs and their failure to keep teens abstinent and drive down teen pregnancy rates. Therefore, schools should not employ an abstinence-only approach to sex education because such programs fail to decrease teen pregnancy rates, do not discourage teens from having sex, and alienate many students.
The dispute between which type of sex education should be taught has intensified recently. For example, "In 1996, the U.S. Congress enacted legislation allocating several million dollars for the development of sex education programs that teach abstinence as the only option for unmarried teens." (Seagren) Since that time, the U.S. government has spent over $170 million annually in subsidizing ineffective abstinence programs that "contain false, misleading, or distorted information about reproductive health" (Beh & Milton).
Abstinence-only education has also risen in popularity due to the astronomical teen pregnancy rates of the US, especially when compared to other nations. According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “There were about 34 births per 1,000 females between the ages of 15 and 19 in 2010, the lowest number since 1946. Just 10 years earlier, there were 48 births per 1,000 females of the same age group despite this decline, the U.S. teen pregnancy rate is still higher than in many other Western countries" (“Abstinence-only Education”). Clearly, the teen pregnancy rate has been declining, but more still needs to be done.
Today, the abstinence-only curriculum is very prevalent and widespread, as abstinence programs make up a large percentage of sexual education classes taught in public schools. Furthermore, 23% of American high schools employ an abstinence-only approach, 34% teach an “abstinence-plus” curriculum, and only 10% of US high schools employ a comprehensive sex education policy. Not to mention, 33% of the schools surveyed taught no sex education at all (Beh & Milton).
In conclusion, abstinence-only sex education became an issue in the 90’s when it began to receive funding, and has been a widespread debate ever since.
