Mediated Brief

Thesis: Public schools should adopt a comprehensive sex education curriculum with a strong focus on abstinence as the only sure way to prevent STDS and pregnancy.

Reason: Action needs to be taken: adolescents are having sex at increasingly younger ages, resulting in extremely high rates of teen pregnancy and STD levels. 
Evidence:
• In a survey conducted by the CDC in 1993, “more than 43% of ninth grade boys and more than 31% of ninth-grade girls report having had sexual intercourse.”
• Teen pregnancy is much more prevalent in the U.S. than any other industrialized nation.
• Three million teenagers become infected with an STD each year.
• Gonorrhea and Chlamydia are more common among teenagers than adults.
• Over 1 million teenage girls become pregnant every year.
• A third of all teenage pregnancies end in abortion. If adolescents were properly educated about how to prevent pregnancy, the need for abortions would be greatly reduced.

Reason: While focusing on an abstinence based approach, intended to lower sexual activity rates among adolescents, an abstinence plus program also allows the discussion of contraceptives and STD prevention, adopting a more real world approach.
Evidence:
• Abstinence cannot be forced upon an individual. An adolescent will make his or her own choice on when to have sex. When they decide it is best that they have been taught how to have safe sex.
• Tamara Kreinin, president of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States: “Young people are going to learn about sex and our question has to be where do we want them to learn? From the media? From their friends? Or do we want them to learn from an educated, responsible adult?"
• Catherine Weiss, director of the ACLU [American Civil Liberties Union's] Reproductive Freedom Project: "Programs in abstinence are very valuable, "It's programs that don't provide any information that we're against.... It's as if you're trying to prevent kids from riding motorcycles by forbidding them to wear safety helmets."

Reason: Teaching students how to properly use contraceptive methods such as condoms, will lower the pregnancy and STD rates among students who do choose to engage in sexual activity, despite being made aware of the risks involved.
Evidence:
• Condoms only prevent pregnancy when used regularly and effectively, so teenagers need to be instructed how to use this other and forms of birth control.
• A study by the CDC found that when condoms are used properly and consistently, there is only a 2% failure rate.

Reason: The sex education curriculum should be tailored in order to make it appropriate to the audience.
Evidence:
• Douglas Kirby, director of research for ETR Associates, a California-based source of materials on sex education: "Effective sex-education programs provide a clear message that is both age- and experience-appropriate.
• Douglas Kirby: For younger, sexually inexperienced youth, an effective message is: "Wait until you are older to have sexual intercourse." For older kids: "Avoid unprotected intercourse--the best way to do this is abstinence; if you have sex, always use protection." For high-risk groups, most of whom are having intercourse, an effective message is: "Always use condoms; otherwise you might get AIDS."
• By addressing different age and maturity levels, methods of dealing with sexual peer pressure can be addressed at an earlier age, thus preventing many early sexual experiences, and at the very least, providing information on how to make later sexual activity safer.
• Abstaining until marriage is not an appropriate course of action for everyone: people who are not religious may not believe in waiting until marriage, some people never intend to marry, and homosexuals are not able to able to obtain legally recognized marriages.
• Especially in urban environments, where the children are at high risk for sexual activity and many are already sexually active it would be ridiculous to advocate abstinence only and leave students uninformed about how to protect themselves.

Reason: While to government may support abstinence only education, the majority of citizens recognize the impracticality of this approach and the need to better educate students about their own sexual health.
Evidence:
• A study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania polled the US public opinion on sex education. They found that “approximately 82% of respondents indicated support for programs that teach students about both abstinence and other methods of preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.” The study summarized that, “abstinence-only programs, while a priority of the federal government, are supported by neither a majority of the public nor the scientific community.”

Working Citation List:

“Abstinence-Only Education.” Issues & Controversies on File. 11 Sept. 2006. Issues & Controversies. Facts on File News Services. 31 Mar. 2008 .

Masland, Molly. "The Sex Education Debate: An Overview." At Issue: Sex Education. Ed. Kristen Bailey. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Clemson University. 9 Apr. 2008 .

Seagren, Alice. “Making a Case for Abstinence-Only Sex Education.” Contemporary Issues Companion: Teens and Sex. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Clemson University. 31 Mar. 2008 .

"Sex Education." Issues & Controversies On File 5 Jan. 2001. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services. 9 Apr. 2008 .

"Sex Education: Statistical Update." Issues & Controversies On File 22 Mar. 2007. Issues & Controversies @ FACTS.com. Facts On File NewsServices. 31 Mar. 2008 .

"Update: Teen Pregnancy." Issues & Controversies On File 6 July 2007.Issues & Controversies @ Facts.com. Facts On File News Services. 31 Mar.2008 .