Topic > The importance of educating adolescents about the benefits of safe sex

Unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections affect adolescents and their families. In the United States, in 2010, “the teen pregnancy rate was 57.4 pregnancies per 1,000 women; this means that approximately 6% of teenagers became pregnant in 2010” (US Teen Pregnancy). Most school systems in the United States teach the abstinence-only approach during sex education classes for teenagers. This approach tells students that the only way to have safe sex is to not have sex at all, which is misleading information. Teens have no way to easily get free condoms without their parents getting involved. So when teenagers have sex, they are probably not protected. Unprotected sex puts teens at increased risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Parents should educate their children about safe sex, whether or not their schools have an abstinence-only sex education policy. Schools in the United States should teach comprehensive sex education to adolescents and provide condoms to their students to encourage them to have safe sex. Preventing unwanted teenage pregnancies will lead to fewer abortions, which are difficult for all women, and especially teenage girls, to deal with emotionally. To reduce the rate of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, condoms should be provided to adolescents, free of charge, so that they are easily accessible. Most schools in the United States teach abstinence-only sex education, which teaches teenagers to abstain from sex. until they get married, because they don't want teenagers having sex. Many parents believe that educating their children about sex and how to have safe sex will make them more likely to have sex at a younger age. Pro-life people believe that educating teenagers about safe sex will make them more likely to have sex at a younger age and become pregnant, which means abortion rates will increase. Parents and schools think that providing condoms to teenagers will lead to more pregnancies because condoms don't always work. While it is acceptable for teens to abstain from sex for as long as possible on both sides of the argument, teens are expected to remain abstinent until marriage. it is unfair to them as human beings who have natural tendencies. Teens who have been taught a comprehensive approach to sex do not have a higher rate of having sex, as many parents may fear. In fact, a study conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. on behalf of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which addressed abstinence-only programs, found no evidence that these programs increase rates of sexual abstinence (Malone et al.). Both pro-life and pro-choice people dislike abortion, but providing condoms to teenagers will not increase abortion rates. While it is true that condoms have been shown to occasionally fail, using them correctly greatly reduces the risk of pregnancy. Only 2% of women experience an unwanted pregnancy in the first year of using a condom (condom technology). Teaching teens about safe sex is a great way to combat the effects of unsafe sex,,.