Teen Birthrate at 65-year Low
An article on AlterNet.com cited that teenage birthrate is the lowest it has been in 65 years. So what is responsible for the drop? Both sex educators and abstinence-only proponents take the credit. The article then goes on to pose two scenarios and then asks who you think is right:
Let’s posit this scenario: You’re 16. You buy a soda and a pack of condoms at the corner store. That afternoon you have sex. You know how to put on the condom because you were taught in your public high school. Anyway, the condom is just a backup. Your girlfriend is on the pill. Some people say your education has encouraged you to take a life-threatening health risk.
Here’s an alternative scenario: You’re the federal government. You’ve thrown over a billion dollars into abstinence-only-until-marriage education. In a decade, you’ve transformed sex education in many states. Your message? There is no such thing as safe sex. Is your plan working? Your opponents say you’re better off throwing your money down a wishing well.
Who’s right?
Each scenario could be correct to any individual, depending on their view on the issue. So the real question is which one is getting the job done? Researchers in the article state that a combination of the two styles is causing change across the board.
It is quite possible that offering both types of education would be helpful even though the styles seem contradictory. Here’s how it could work. Abstinence-only education is only going to reach a certain number of teenagers. There will always be those out there are who are going to engage in pre-marital sex. So, for those teens, where the abstinence-only education leaves off, safe sex education can pick up the slack. Basically saying, if you choose to engage is sex before marriage, at least be safe and responsible by using contraceptives and getting tested regularly.
The problems, though, will still exist. As the article points out, the United States still has the highest teenage birthrate of any industrialized country. To add to the problem, the US government is only giving federal funding to abstinence-only programs. This may not seem like a bad thing if your belief is that teens won’t have sex if we tell them not to but the reality is, SOME will no matter what we say. Until we are able to come to a comprehensive resolution by talking openly and honestly about sex in America, our teen birthrate may drop but won’t be as low as it could (or possible should) be.
Article link: The Teenage Birth Rate Has Dropped to a 65-Year Low - Jennifer Liss, Wiretap
teens, sex, education, contraception, birthrate
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