"Don't Abstain From the Truth"

Don't Abstain From the Truth

Although not all teens have terrible lives because of unprotected sex, a good percentage of Americans who are only taught to use abstinence end up not wearing condoms when they have sex - A whopping 21 percent! (Fox). Teaching abstinence and only abstinence in schools is not a sure-fire way of keeping our children from getting STDs or having babies. I would argue that instead of giving up on Abstinence-Only education all together, we take the general concept and apply it to our safe sex education that has been taught for years in schools.

Many may now be asking, "What is Abstinence exactly?" Abstinence is the idea that any sexual activity at all should not happen before marriage. Most people taught will learn that it is the "best means of ensuring that they avoid…unintended pregnancy," as well as STDs (Avert).

Not all programs on abstinence are the same of course, but there are commonly taught objectives (See Figure 1).

Penn & Teller: Bullshit!

Condom in the shape of an AIDS ribbon. AIDS awaren...

English: Flowchart displaying federal funding for ...

As you can see within the outline, this is the "norm" that is sought after (The "Norm" being the set of guidelines made my the U.S. Government). It is possible for programs to follow the outline to a "T," but it is human nature to miss a few points or to just not remember things entirely.

Looking at the guidelines in Figure 1, we can see some good things about Abstinence education. Most of these good points stem from not using drugs or alcohol, being true to oneself, and to try to maintain a healthy, loving relationship. These are all great and moral things to have in one's life and it is a good thing that Abstinence is teaching them. Other benefits to Abstinence include risk prevention.

Women who abstain until their 20s...