John Oliver, a man well known for his wit, comedic timing, and hosting HBO's "Last Week Tonight," took on the issue of sex education in America on last week's episode. Recently, stories have been making headlines about parents who have had issues with their child(ren)'s sex education courses being too informative or graphic.

"Kids have good questions that need good answers," says Oliver. But how can these questions be answered when there is no required standard for sex education in the United States? The type of sex education one will receive depends solely on one's location. Only 22 states mandate sex education, only 13 require the information be medically accurate, and 8 prohibit the mention of homosexuality. Programs differ not only from state to state, but from district to district, and even from school to school. During the episode Oliver talks about an Ohio news station that asked several southern Ohio schools to speak about their sex education programs; the majority of schools asked to comment refused, even though it is considered public information.

With these programs' scattered and unclear goals and ideals, how can we ensure America is getting a thorough sex education? One thing we can be sure about is the prominence of abstinence-only programs in the country. While the United States has no required standards for sex education, Congress just increased funding for abstinence-only programs from $50 million to $75 million.

This seems like good news, but in reality most abstinence-only programs are biased, judgmental, and sexist. “This idea that sex is something which devalues one that has had it, particularly women, comes up again and again,” says Oliver. In these abstinence-only programs, women who are no longer virgins are repeatedly put down and were compared to chewed-up pieces of gum, dirty shoes, and used tape that has lost its "bonding power." The sex education taught by abstinence-only programs doesn't even appear to be sex education, but rather a platform for women to be discriminated against.

Additionally, these types of programs simply aren't realistic for teenagers when statistics show that the average age teenagers are losing their virginity is 17, and most Americans will have more than one sexual partner in their lifetime. With statistics like this, the sex education being taught needs to be more than just telling them admonitions that sex is bad and they should wait until marriage. Teens need to be taught how to use a condom, what other forms of birth control are available, and what STDs are and how to take precautions against them. Abstinence-only programs don't cover these vital topics.

Another flaw in these programs is the way consent is portrayed. Oliver showed an example of a video in which the female character is refusing to have sex with the male character, and after the female character says no, the male character immediately backs off. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. "When kids graduate high school without a full understanding of consent, they are abetting an already troubled culture," says Oliver. We can no longer afford men and women following blurred lines of consent, where the consequences vary from rape to emotional damage.

In response to all the flaws in America's stance on sex education, Oliver created a humorous, yet accurate and helpful, sex education video covering basic anatomy, the how-tos of sex, various birth control methods, STDs, and consent.

The video created by Oliver was meant to end the show on a lighter note, but I couldn't help but think about how the short video was the best sex education I have received. Its honest, judgment-free approach just worked. Instead of berating teens for their sexual choices, or having weird or strict rules for what should and shouldn't be taught in sex education, educators should stick to the basics. I believe there should be a national program each school should follow that openly discusses every aspect of sex education in a safe, open, and honest environment. It's easier said than done, and most will agree sex education is a matter of opinion, but we need to face it's a fact of life and it should be treated seriously.