Comprehensive Sex Education Program could lower teen pregnancy and STDs in Texas

Texas could lower the percentage of teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted disease if it provided comprehensive sex education program in all its public schools, according to Krueger Teen Pregnancy and Parenting.  The Texas government should make every public school in Texas incorporate a comprehensive sex education program.

A recent study revealed that there are parents who are afraid to talk to their children about sex and their changing bodies.  Many parents are hesitant to discuss sexual issues with their children because they thing that an expert could do a better job.  Some parents are scared of making mistakes or using the wrong words.  Others feel incompetent about discussing the topic since they themselves received very little or no sex education as a child.  Some of these parents would prefer to let their children’s teachers do the job.  As a result, some teens are left ignorant to the consequences of sex.  A comprehensive sex education program would not only benefit the kids but also those parents who cannot do the job themselves.

The big question that most ask is where do our children get information about sex?  Some parents rightly believe that sex education should be taught at home.  Teaching children about sex education is always a parent’s job, but there is no guarantee that children will be taught by their parents.  A recent survey conducted by Swisher revealed that of 8,000 students of 12 years of age, about eighty percent said that they did not receive any sort of sex education from their parents.  When these children were questioned on the issue, many felt that their parents are the least informative source for information concerning topics like birth control and sexually transmitted diseases.

In a survey conducted by Rosenthal adolescents confessed to having sex prematurely because they were curious.  It is important to note that sex education cannot prevent teenage sex, but it can ensure students have the knowledge of exactly risky unprotected sex is and all the possible consequences.

Teen pregnancy has been a problem for a long time in Texas and this could be attributed to a lack of sex education.  Everyone wants fewer teen pregnancies and fewer cases of sexually transmitted diseases.  The question is how we get there. It is evident that the problem of teen pregnancies can be controlled a little better if sex education were in place. 

In 2008, 52% of all pregnancies (301,000) in Texas were unplanned.  In Texas, the money used to fund unplanned pregnancies is closed to $200 million.  Instead of putting that entire fund into one program, the state should apply some of those funds to a comprehensive sex education program.

In 2012, there were 305,420 babies born to females ages 15-19.  Statistics have revealed that 25% of all girls and 16% of all boys will be victims of some type of sexual abuse or assault by the time they turn 18.

Since parents fail to educate their kinds about sex, the responsibility falls on the government to fund schools in order they can offer these programs.  Another question needing clarification is which type of methods (abstinence only or comprehensive sex education) will the government approve?  According to Krueger, abstinence programs were ineffective in reducing teen pregnancy and STDs.  A congressionally mandated study of four popular abstnince programs by the Mathematica found that they were entirely ineffective.  Students who participated in the programs were no more likely to abstain from sex than other students were.

In 2010, the Obama administration removed the streams of funding for abstinence only programs and created funding for a comprehensive sex education program.  Comprehensive sex education programs give young people the tools they need to protect themselves from negative health outcomes.  A study performed in 2006 on youth ages 13 through 24 revealed that nearly 15 percent of the 56,000 new cases of HIV infections occurred in these youth.

A study conducted on teens in Sweden and the Netherlands revealed that teens in those countries were just as sexually active as teens in the United States but their teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease rate was much lower.  Researchers attribute this success to the fact that those countries implement sex educaton in all their public schools at an early age.  Texas has so many resources at its disposal to be able to effectively teach classes on comprehensive sex education that would help teens.

The risk of young people getting STDs and being pregnant is at an all-time high.  The key is to prevent it by providing adequate knowledge on the issue.  As the saying goes, “knowledge is power”.  Thus, we must empower the young people of this country with knowledge.  As demonstrated above, some parents are uncomfortable about discussing sex with their children.  Some would even prefer that their children figure it out on their own from other sources.

To better deal with the high rate of STDs. In addition, unplanned pregnancies the schools have to be empowered by the state of Texas to equip our kids.