Comprehensive Sex Education Program example essay topic

Abstinence is the only sure way to keep people totally safe from early pregnancies, population overgrowth, and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. But is it the best way? It is my belief that the "abstinence-only" approach is not the best way to deal with these issues. I think the large majority of these problems stem from a young population ignorant about the negative effects that can come from their sexual activity. Therefore, I feel that a comprehensive sex-education for all teenagers is needed.

Teaching children the "abstinence-only" approach I feel is the same as a doctor treating the symptoms instead of the cause. From a young age, children should be well informed of what sex is and how it is a beautiful thing shared between two people in a mature relationship. When parents try to shelter their children as long as possible and only show them why sex is so wrong and try to scare them away from sex I feel is the same as treating the symptoms instead of the cause. We must be honest with our children and show them how it is better to avoid sexual activity until marriage if possible and if not, how to be sexually active with extreme caution. Sex education can be taught in a moral and ethical context. In my high school experience I witnessed a large amount of sexual activity that took place in teens and even saw the direct result, including teen pregnancy.

I feel I had a limited amount of sexual education in the school system and felt I could have benefited from a more comprehensive program, even at an early age. I am an opponent of the abstinence-only movement and agree with the statement, "that in an age in which teenagers are already sexually active, preaching the case for chastity without teaching the case for condoms is dangerously na " ive". (DeWitt, Phillip). I feel we should be comprehensive in our teachings of sexual education.

Opponents of this idea feel that, "To instruct children in the mechanics of birth control or abortion, it urges, is to lead them down the path of self destruction". (DeWitt, Phillip). A comprehensive education program would also have a positive effect on overpopulation. In the world today millions of people are dying from overpopulation, "During the past twenty years there have been 200 million hunger-related deaths; the growing food deficit may raise that number five-fold in the next twenty years". (M.F. Perutz). These numbers are hard to believe because it seems so easy to prevent overpopulation or at least mitigate it with the technology and the knowledge of human sexuality we have today. I feel the Bush administration has the right idea of promoting abstinence but I feel they are going about it entirely wrong.

The withdrawal of the U.S. from the Cairo Plan was a huge mistake. "Cairo was about empowering women and focusing on the special needs and new circumstances surrounding reproductive-health issues", said Wirth, a former Democratic senator who headed the U.S. delegation to the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development in 1994. ' (Enda, Jodi). The Bush Administration assumed that services provided by the Cairo plan "imply abortion", something they do not believe in.

Even the Vatican supported this document, but did not want it interpreted to mean abortion. Bush did not take into consideration all of the other ways the Cairo plan was helping, such as providing sexual education along with education about healthcare. As stated by Francoise Girard, "the Cairo agreement was critical to fighting AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, allowing women to control their fertility and preventing unintended pregnancies that lead to abortions". These are complex issues that have political, religious, moral and financial implication.

However, I feel it is short sighted to assume that an abstinence only approach to sex education will make these situations better. A comprehensive sex education program would allow people to have accurate information regarding their sexual health. I feel the misinformation that goes around schools and amongst friends is what leads to some of the problems. Today we live in a world where information is abundantly available and I feel there is no way to keep children sheltered from exposure to sex in movies, on TV, and through computers.

Therefore, we must accept this and learn to give our youth the useful knowledge to keep them safe and well informed. A comprehensive sex education program that involves parents, teachers, and administrators would help accomplish this goal.