Patrick Harvey
Cavalier Daily (U. Virginia)(U-WIRE) CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – President Bush is now trying to put a U-turn on the sexual revolution by planning to increase spending on abstinence-only programs by $60 million this year.
This increased spending should not be spent on restrictive abstinence-only programs, because they are ineffective and do not match popular conceptions about sexuality. Instead, a comprehensive sexual education that accurately and scientifically explains the risks of sexual activity should be encouraged.
More than one-third of high school students who had sex before graduation regret their decision to become sexually active. Twenty-five percent of sexually active teens will contract a STD, and a quarter of all HIV cases occur in people under the age of 21 (“Risky Business,” May 27, 2002, U.S. News & World Report).
Sex is clearly a dangerous activity, both physically and psychologically, especially for teenagers. Statistics like these should encourage abstinence.
However, making abstinence seem like the only choice for teenagers creates more problems than it solves.
A study by Yale and Columbia Universities analyzed the effects of abstinence-only pledges that are similar to the type of education Bush is encouraging. Indeed, abstinence-only training did delay sexual activity by 18 months. However, when a pupil of the abstinence-only program did decide to engage in sexual activity, he or she was less likely to use contraception. Granted, having sex too early can leave an emotional scar on a developing teenager, but the scar created by a teen pregnancy or STD will cut much deeper.
Abstinence is the only surefire way to prevent disease and pregnancy, but alternatives must be presented so teenagers know what to do if their sexuality overpowers them. The dangers of sex must be emphasized, as well as the failure rates of various contraceptives. Nevertheless, two-thirds of high school graduates have had sex, and eighty percent of all Americans have premarital sex. To send teenagers out into a sexual world without the knowledge of how to protect themselves will eventually lead to more unwanted pregnancies and more STDs.
According to the U.S. News & World Report article, abstinence-only programs encourage teenagers to find less healthy ways to release their sexual urges.
Many teenagers resort to oral and anal sex as a way to retain their “technical virginity,” unaware of the consequences. Any sexual education program must include the dangers of these sexual activities, but abstinence-only programs are much more likely to drive kids to other forms of unprotected sexual behavior in order to remain abstinent.
Also, abstinence-only programs hurt victims of sexual abuse, because they feel they can never truly be abstinent.
This year, The Coalition for Adolescent Sexual Health — a conservative, faith-based organization — released a poll that claimed Americans oppose comprehensive sexual education by a 2.4 to one ratio.
Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood contests that over 80 percent of Americans support abstinence-first, comprehensive sexual education. Which poll is correct?
Neither. Both polls are incredibly biased and are just attempts to push their respective agendas. However, because most Americans have premarital sex, it is clear that sex before marriage does not go against the beliefs and values of many Americans.
If most Americans are having sex before marriage, they send the message that premarital sex is okay. The media certainly reinforces this belief.
The trend for Americans is to have sex before marriage, and abstinence-only programs cannot stop such a force. If abstinence-only programs cannot prevent people from having sex — the baby-boom generation who had little sexual education started the sexual revolution — then there is no point, and in fact, teaching children that abstinence is the only way is dangerous.
What sexual education programs can attempt to discourage are random hookups and one-night stands. America might not be ready to return to the maxim of “no sex before marriage,” but the adults of America have the responsibility to teach the youth that sex with many, less well-known partners is especially dangerous.
Premarital sex with a significant other of two years is a lot different than drunken sex back in the dorm room after a frat party. The former can still be an expression of love and intimacy, while the latter is just lust and peril. In the sexual world we live in, a complete sexual education is essential.
Thankfully, we live in a world where sex is a subject that can be discussed.
However, abstinence-only programs pull back the benefits of increased awareness of one’s sexuality while creating a completely new set of problems.