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Sex Education in Public Schools

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Sex Education in Public Schools

"Sex oozes from every pore of the culture and there's not a kid in the world who can

avoid it" Charles Krauthammer stated. (Bender)

Why should a teen have to avoid the topic of sex? Many teens are taught to believe that

sex is wrong until after they are married, but not taught the truth about sex. Sex is a natural

biological urge that no piece of paper makes a difference about. What should be different, is how

teens are taught about sex. In 1996, the United States government passed a law giving funding to

states that offered abstinence-only sex education programs in public schools. Since this time,

over half of a billion dollars has been given to states to promote abstinence-only programs.

(Brody) After a study of four of the schools with abstinence only programs showed, that teens

who had participated in the class were no more likely to hold off on having sex, engaging in oral

sex, lower the amount of sexual partners or avoiding sex completely than, a teen that did not

attend the class at all. (Trenholm) Comprehensive sexual education programs have helped the

rate of sexual transmitted diseases, (STD Surveillance) number of unwanted pregnancies and or

abortions decline. Sex education also has been shown to reduce the possibility of sexual

violence. (Gorden)

Comprehensive sexual education programs promote knowledge about prevention,

knowing the symptoms of STDs and where to get tested. In 2009, two years after the study of

abstinence only programs and start of implementing more sex education, the gonorrhea rates

dropped to their lowest numbers since the national reporting began in 1974. (STD Surveillance) Unfortunately, there is no regulation on how STD prevention is taught in schools. States such as

Indiana, Nevada, and Rhode Island has more than ninety percent of high schools teaching STD

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