Almost 10 percent of teenage girls in the U.S. become pregnant each year according to 'Abstinence-Only Sex Education Is Ineffective,' Deborah Roffman. Additionally, teenagers contract about three million sexually transmitted infections. Many people turn to the government to fix this problem, which is where controversy arises. Rebecca Onion explains in 'Let's Talk About Sex' that there are three types of sex education, 'abstinence-only, abstinence-plus (kids learn about abstinence as well as contraception) or comprehensive (in which students learn about everything and anything).' Currently, most states allow school boards and districts to decide which method to use, says Onion. However, Texas, and other states, decided not to teach contraception at all. The question is, which method is best for our children? Schools should teach comprehensive sex education as opposed to abortion-only sex education in order to prevent unwanted pregnancies and the spread of STDs.
One reason that comprehensive sex education is effective, Roffman points out, is that it sends the message to teens that they are capable of making their own decision. She goes on to say that when teens are told what to do, it sometimes makes some want to do the very thing they are being told not to do even more. After receiving a talk from an abstinence-only educator, one of Roffman's students said 'There will be girls who go out and 'do it' just to spite her!' Roffman says about sex education outside of abstinence-only: 'The message communicated to teenagers is that we adults recognize them as maturing individuals who are learning to take responsibility for themselves and that we will not treat them as though they lack the ability to reason on their own.' Abstinence-only programs say that teens need 'clear messages,' and that giving them the option of contraception may confuse them. Roffman agrees that adolescents need directness but she says 'clarity by itself is never...