In addition to being an ineffective deterrent to unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, abstinence only education prevents young women from making well informed decisions about their sexuality. Cases of teen pregnancy and STD/HIV infections is on the rise despite the government allocating funds for abstinence only programs. This paper seeks to look at the government policies with regard to abstinence-only education programs and its relationship with unwanted pregnancies.
It is a known fact that sexual abstinence is being practiced in all countries in the world as a sure way of preventing sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy.
Men and women of all ages who are not ready to accept the risks that accompany sexual activity embrace abstinence which is a normal and acceptable practice. As a way of expressing love, affection and tenderness, majority resort to intercourse and sexual activity.
Sex is also being used by couples to strengthen their relationships. However, it has often been argued that using sex to cement relationships can distort one’s judgment.
Among women, having sex may strengthen the feeling of love but do not actually cement or deepen the relationship.
Exploring sexual behavior within an environment of deep commitment where having children is considered as a possibility is always rewarding. Majority of people are however not prepared for commitment hence opt for abstinence until they develop a stable relationship.
Abstinence is 100% effective in protecting an individual from sexually transmitted. However, if the majority of the population could realize its effectiveness, then we would not be having such headlines like the ones we have seen in the past of teen births being on the rise.
However, abstinence is not an easy practice considering how strong sexual drives are among humans.
The rate of teen births steadily declined since 1991 and this could have been because of the intensive educational campaigns that were initiated during that period. These campaigns included encouraging people to use contraceptives and condoms and enlightening people on the risks of Aids and sexually transmitted diseases. However, today statistics now show an increase by 3% in teen births the first time ever in 14 years. (Wilson, Kelly, Patricia,2005) Is it that the sex education programs that the government adopted are no longer working?
The government has tried to show some effort in curbing STDs and unwanted pregnancies. The first federal abstinence-only program was enacted in 1981 and this was designed primarily to support pregnant and parenting teenagers. This came through the adolescent Family Life Act which was also passed the same year. AFLA also funded “abstinence-only” programs meant to encourage responsibility and self discipline among teenagers (Abstinence Only Programs 2008, p.2).
Abstinence-only program’s purpose was to teach the general population and especially the teenagers how they stand to gain from abstinence. It also sought to teach abstinence from pre-marital to all schooling children. The abstinence-only program was supposed to teach the values of abstinence with regard to unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. According to this program, the expected standard of human sexual activity revolved around a mutually faithful monogamous relationship. However, with all these well clarified goals, current scientific research shows that this program is ineffective.
A study of ‘abstinence-only-until marriages’ program inferred that the classes fail to serve its goal of delaying the onset of sexual activity the young people. An evaluation of 11 of these programs showed that they do not have a lasting positive effect on the asexual behavior of young people (Ibid 4). Instead of a positive effect on the young people they showed a negative willingness to use contraceptive because the program emphasized on contraceptive failure.
It has often been reiterated that abstinence-only programs endanger the youths because adolescents are denied complete information. These programs fail to provide contraception information and in some cases, they have been accused of providing wrong information which may lead to youths forgoing contraceptive use.
Teens are exposed to pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases because of lack of responsible sex education. Only safer sex intervention can reduce unprotected sexual intercourse as compared to abstinence only programs. The Federal Fund for abstinence -only programs have negatively influenced schools. Avery good example involves the Gloucester High school in Massachusetts with the summer vacations beginning 17 girls at the school are expecting babies (Kathleen Kingsbury, Wednesday June 18, 2008).
This proves further the failure of the program to curb pre-marital pregnancies. In order to reduce the prevalence of this at the school a local pediatrician advocated for the prescription of contraceptives. However, this has been met with hostility. Amazingly it is the desire of these teens to get pregnant and this only proves how distorted their perception towards life is.
Remember! This is just a sample.
You can get a custom paper by one of our expert writers.
Get your custom essay
Helping students since 2015
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Contact Essay is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.
Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Essay Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, in case there is anything you find not to be clear, you may always call us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order form
Once we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignment
As soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download