Sex education is a process of giving knowledge and forming attitudes and beliefs about sex, sexual identity, relationships and intimacy ("Pros and Cons Of Sex Education."). Educators, parents, etc. have strong opinions when it comes to teaching their children about sex. Abstinence based sex education courses are popular throughout public and private schools. But is making sex education programs abstinence based sending the right message? Parents need to take control of the sex education programs to ensure that their children gain the best knowledge possible. Sex programs in middle and high schools should support abstinence but also teach the teenagers how to protect themselves from unexpected pregnancy; the more knowledge they know the more they can be protected.
Teenagers are no more likely to be sexually active having been taught about protection such as pills, condoms, shots or patches, etc. then they are having been taught abstinence based education. “Studies show that providing information about contraception does not increase teen sexual activity. At the same time, teens who received only abstinence education were no more likely to abstain. And when they did stray, without education about birth control, they were more likely to get pregnant” ("Pros and Cons Of Sex Education."). If not educated by the schools a lot of teens learn from other sources about sex and protection such as family, the media, internet, books, advertisement and even friends who may have the wrong facts as well. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted a survey finding out 46% of all high school students reported ever having had sexual intercourse, 61% of sexually active students reported using a condom the last time they had sex and 20% of sexually active students reported using birth control pills the last time they had sex ("Fast Facts").
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