Condoms In High School example essay topic

Teens and Sex Jay Grader An increasing problem on high school campuses and one of the main concerns of parents, school officials, and the government is teenage sex. It is on the rise, and they are worried that it may get out of control. Teenage sex can be a problem because of the pregnancies and many diseases it can cause. One solution that has been proposed is to distribute condoms in public high schools. This is a topic that is controversial and has been hotly debated for years. There are people who think it would be a good idea and those who think it may worsen the problem rather than solve it.

The reason that people want to distribute condoms in high school is to try to prevent teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and (I separate this from the category of STD's because it is so widespread, deadly, important, frightening, etc.) H.I. V infection. The theory is that if condoms were given out or made available at high schools, then the students would be more inclined to use them. They would have them or be able to get them if they need to use them. This would cut down on unprotected sexual intercourse and prevent the pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, and H.I.V. infection. If a student was at a party and decided, on the spur of the moment, to engage in sexual intercourse, then it is more likely that they have a condom if schools distributed them. This sounds good in theory, but will it really work?

If schools distribute condoms, shouldn't they also teach the students how to use them and teach them a little about sex (sex education in schools, another controversial topic)? The world certainly needs to try to decrease teenage pregnancies, STD's, and H.I.V. infection. In an article from the New York Times, the United Nations reports that women, especially sexually active teenage girls, have a higher rate of H.I.V. infection than men in that age group. It cited the slow development of mucous membranes as the reason for the lower protection against infection and increased risk of getting H.I.V. It mentions that in Rwanda, 25% of pregnant women are infected, and 17% of those who have teenage sex will be infected. Those numbers are staggering. In the United States, if even 5% of teenagers who have had sex become infected with H.I.V., then that would translate to hundreds of thousands of teenagers.

This shows that H.I.V. could be a bigger problem than it already is if nothing is done about it, and some people think that distributing condoms would help keep the problem from getting worse. Condom distribution might work, but what if the students do not use them? Also, distributing condoms might start a student to become sexually active that otherwise would not be. Wouldn't condom distribution then increase teenage sex thus increasing the chance of getting pregnant and contracting H.I.V.? Once this student becomes sexually active he or she might not use a condom every time they have sex.

Even if they do, condoms are not 100% effective. I repeat- CONDOMS ARE NOT 100% EFFECTIVE. They are only 92-96% effective against pregnancy and not at all effective for blocking H.I.V. transmission. Wouldn't a better option then be to control teenage sex? Making love is not something to play around with. When people decide to do it, they make a life and death decision.

If they contract an STD they risk their life for death. And if a woman gets pregnant, the woman is not guaranteed to live through it (although chances are that she will), and the child is not guaranteed to live for many reasons including abortion. Shouldn't steps be taken to educate teenagers about what they are getting into before schools start handing out condoms? This would be a better way to prevent the spread of pregnancies and of STD's and H.I.V. If teenagers do not have sex to begin with the risk of infection goes down because, like I said, condoms are not 100% effective.

If they know more about the risks, then they can make an educated decision about sex, and then it will be very likely that they will use a condom if they decide to have sex. This is one alternative and might be a better policy to implement than condom distribution. I think that starting in junior high school, students should learn about pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and H.I.V. There would be a course or a section of a course dedicated to health where students learn about these subjects. Then in high school, students should do a more in-depth study of the consequences of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. This could be done as a part of a biology course or as a research project in an English class. Finally, students should learn about H.I.V. and AIDS, how it affects the lives of those who have it, and what can be done about it.

Again, this could be a separate course that is required or a part of another required course. Then, pamphlets about all these things should be made available at the health (or nurse's) office and suggested for the students to read before they receive condoms. If this is done, then I believe that teenage sex should be less of a problem than it is now.