While the debaters of America are trained on the controversy between labeling themselves either pro-life or pro-choice, there is an even greater problem that exists behind all of that controversy, and it starts in middle school gym class.
Communities in the Phoenix/Metropolitan area debating over how sex ed is to be taught or whether it should be taught at all, primarily siding with more conservative political supporters who argue that anything but abstinence-based curriculum would promote promiscuity and demoralize young adults.
Traditional abstinence-based teachings promote abstinence as the best and only method to prevent unwanted pregnancies and STDs, ignoring forms of contraceptives and protection as viable options. Many Arizona schools opt into a curriculum called “Choosing the Best,” a medically based abstinence education program, whereas school districts like Higley Unified School District don’t have any form of sexual education. They completely bypass curriculum that fully educates teens by offering them other safe sex practice options.
Let’s address first and foremost the accusation regarding millennials becoming a demoralized generation due to their wide acceptance of contraceptives and protection. One simply cannot attempt to rectify an entire generation’s upbringing with a two week abstinence-based education. The culture we have today is one that is founded upon the media’s glorified portrayal of sex. Just sitting through the movie Trainwreck shows way more of Amy Schumer and John Cena than many people would ever like to see on the big screen.
How can anyone reasonably expect children who grow up exposed to raunchy television, songs, and movies to turn out to be celibate adults? There is a disconnect here between one generation and the next, a culture revolution propelled exponentially by the media.
Let’s look to issues more central to Arizona. Between 1991 and 2013, teen birth rates dropped 57%, preventing 4 million births to teenage women in Arizona. This is a direct result of contraceptives and protection becoming more widely accepted and used, not the same tired abstinence-based education that has been used to no avail for decades. It is also no surprise that Arizona, a state that remains tightly holding on to conservative sex ed teachings, ranks as one of the top ten states with the highest teen pregnancy ratings. Even worse, the U.S. ranks as one of the highest in the world.
Teaching comprehensive sexual education puts young adults at a much greater advantage to be safe in their habits and not need to utilize controversial methods such as abortion. It is a plain and simple fact that abstinence-based teachings are not helping. Nonetheless, teens are having sex; nearly 45% of students in Arizona high schools admit to having at least one sexual partner if not more.
The point is that regardless of political standing, morals, and religious beliefs, having a strong educational basis regarding intercourse is the best way to ensure women consistently graduate at higher ratings, ensure couples who do not have to tip toe around a society that does not give them the options that could promote their well-being, and ultimately hopefully save them from having to make the incredibly tough decision of whether or not to terminate a pregnancy.
It all starts with a comprehensive education that lets teens know all of their options.
Citations
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db46.pdf
http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/editorial/2014/08/22/arizona-teen-pregnancy/14439835/
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2007.htm
