Informative Speech Essay example

People such as President George W. Bush has made no secret of his view that sex education should teach teenagers "abstinence only" rather than including information on other ways to avoid sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy. Unfortunately, despite spending more than $10 million on abstinence-only programs in Texas alone, this strategy has not been shown to be effective at curbing teen pregnancies or halting the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. (2010 Union of Concerned Scientists) In addition, the Bush administration distorted science-based performance measures to test whether abstinence-only programs were proving effective, such as charting the birth rate of female program participants. In place of such established measures, the Bush administration required the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to track only participants' program attendance and attitudes, measures designed to obscure the lack of efficacy of abstinence-only programs. (Federal Register 65:69562-65, November 17, 2000). This

According to advocatesforyouth.org, “Abstinence-only-until-marriage programs are a waste of taxpayer money.” Since 1996 over one billion dollars has been spent on these programs. Because these programs are unsuccessful many people argue that it is a waste of money to spend billions of dollars on ineffective programs. However comprehensive sex education which teaches students about contraceptive usage and abstinence does not get the funding that abstinence only receives.

In 2005, nearly half of all high school students have had sexual intercourse. Plainly stating that abstinence programs do not work (USA Today). Abstinence programs were beneficial many years ago, but since they are ineffective in delaying teen pregnancy, then teen pregnancy rate has increased. Abstinence programs teach the “no sex until marriage” clause, but they don’t teach teens about birth control and the consequences of having sex at before they’ve matured. Although many studies argue that abstinence programs are educational and beneficial, other studies will show that they don’t delay teen sex, they don’t prevent the spread of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), and are a waste of taxpayers’

When President Obama took office, he enacted change against spending only for abstinence education. “In December 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010, which included $110 million for the President’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative (TPPI)” (SIECUS, n.d.). Unlike previous presidents,

With the rise of teen pregnancy parents are still afraid to allow their children to use birth control. If a teen is not sexual active, the dispensing of birth control in schools is not going to change that. "Previous research with adolescents has indicated that making contraceptive accessible does not increase sexual activity among adolescents who weren't previously sexually active.(qtd. In Women's health

Supporters of both programs argue that the other is ineffective and has reverse effects on society. Each side also argues their program is the correct way to further society. What should be funded federally and supported is also up for debate amongst both sides of the argument. However, federal programs have supported abstinence education in the past; but the viewpoint by in office presidents has shifted in recent history (Lee.) As the world becomes more accepting of difference, education on topics grows, and science discovers additional information relating to sex education the programs each the discussion will become more complicated. Programs have evolved over the years to tell the same message in a new way, keeping the debate of abstinence based sex education

While attending the facility myself, the school did not provide any forms of contraceptives for the students. According to current students, the school still does not supply contraceptives. Besides providing education about sex we need provide ways to have safe sex. The likeliness of getting all teens to stop having sex is impossible, but the possibility of adolescents having protected sex is quite possible. After working in retail for three years, I have seen contraceptives for both men and women being stolen almost daily. This allows us to believe people want to have protected sex; however, some of individuals do not have the money to acquire

Advocates of the second program argued that the abstinences program do not provide protection against teenage pregnancy (Solomon-Fears). In 2015 According to the CDC, “we can prevent pregnancies by promoting teen friendly interventions aimed at both increasing the number of teens who abstain from or delay sexual activity, and increasing the number of sexually active teens who consistently and correctly use effective contraceptives methods” (Solomon-Fears, 2015). The message of abstinence is important, but the effectiveness of simply telling teenagers this or even expounding on this message, is questionable. In 2010, HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius stated “we need to use the best science of what works to address it,” in reference to teenage pregnancy the useful ness of education over abstinence only. Teaching them about contraceptives, and giving tem understandable information they can use, seems to have better results in reducing pregnancy. Teenagers are more likely to choose a program that does not come across as all rules, like an abstinence only

Parents should consider speaking with teenage daughters about the necessity of birth control to bring awareness of sexually transmitted disease, pregnancy, and teen drop outs. It’s stated that 10,000 teens and young adults are contracting HIV between the age of (13-24), and many of them have multiply partner which puts them at a high risk of contracting a STD or HIV. So many teens are sexually active, but are not using protection which causes them to become pregnant. Statistic states that children who are born to teenage mothers has a high chance of having health problems, dropping out of school, incarcerated, and giving birth at a young age. Teenagers who get pregnant in high school tends to drop out. If they drop out that will not have the skills and credentials to function in today’s society and work place.

According to Clemmit(2010), although there is still a lot of hype surrounding teen pregnancy and birth rates, teens have been less sexually activity, they have been using contraceptive, and getting fewer abortions more recently than they did in earlier decades. This shows that the current generation is using prevention techniques that were previously not being adopted by teens. To illustrate, teen births and pregnancies have been declining in the United States since the late 1950s. Although that might sound like the problem has subsided, the teen birth rates remain much higher in the U.S. than in many other industrialized societies, such as Canada and Western Europe. To illustrate, in 2007, Germany 's rate was about one-quarter the U.S. rate, France 's was one-sixth and the Netherlands ' one-ninth(Cemmit, 2010).

Research-based evaluation of comprehensive programs show that they are just as effective (if not more so) than abstinence-only programs at reducing the age at which sexual activity first occurs, reducing the frequency of sexual activity and number of sexual partners, as well as increasing the use of condoms and contraceptives among adolescents (Advocates for Youth). Researchers at the National Survey of Family Growth found that students who received comprehensive sexuality education were 50 percent less likely to become pregnant than those who received abstinence-only education. Additionally, these studies showed that those who received abstinence-only education were not any more or less likely to abstain from sex until marriage than other students; in at least 13 states, abstinence-only programs were proven to have shown no changes in sexual behavior over time. In addition, public polls routinely report that over 80 percent of Americans citizens would vote in favor of offering comprehensive sex education in high schools, middle schools, and junior high schools; in one such poll, 70 percent of participants opposed abstinence-only programs receiving government funding and 85 percent believed adolescents should learn about birth control and other forms of contraceptives and pregnancy prevention in school (Advocates

It was not until another decade had passed that sex education received much needed attention. Reports in 2004 revealed that abstinence-only curriculum was devastatingly flawed; and in 2008 twenty-five states rejected federal funding for abstinence-only programs after several evaluations found that abstinence-only programs did not impact behavior. Then in 2010, Congress funded the Personal Responsibility Education Program that provided for $75 million annually for accurate, and effective sex education programs that promote information on prevention, contraception, and abstinence. In more recent years, the public has been calling for more comprehensive sexual education- showing that current policies on sex education do not accurately represent changing social expectations (See visual

Throughout the United States, many people debate whether young adults should receive sex education in their school curriculum. Statistics show that one-third of girls become pregnant before the age of 20. An increase in teen pregnancy could be due to the age of which females reach puberty. Today, there has been an enormous increase in young girls reaching puberty before the age of seven. Could encouraging sex education in schools decrease the amount of pregnant teens? The purpose of sex education is to educate adolescents of the consequences of engaging in sexual behaviors and making them aware of techniques to protect themselves if they choose to become sexually active. Many people argue about the impacts of abstinence-only sex education programs versus abstinence-plus sex education programs. Millner, Mulekar, and Turrens (2015) define abstinence-only programs as curricula that encourages strictly abstinence as a means of prevention whereas abstinence-plus programs emphasize abstinence as the safest technique but also promotes the use of contraceptives. I will argue that abstinence-plus sex education should be mandatory in school curriculum because it teaches young adults to practice abstinence as well as methods to protect themselves if they decide to engage in sexual activity.

In the United States, rates of sexually transmitted diseases, teen pregnancy, and teen births are significantly higher than in most other industrialized countries. In fact, 4 out of 10 adolescent females have been pregnant at least once before the age of 20, 1 out of 4 sexually active teens contracts an STD each year, and 50% of new HIV infections occur in individuals under the age of 25 (Beh 22). This can partly be attributed to the state of sex education in the United States. Only 24 states require sex education be taught in schools and only 20 of those require the information to be ‘medically, factually, or technically accurate’ (“State Policies”). Abstinence-only education has been proven to be ineffective in reducing rates of teen pregnancies, STDs, and the consequences of both; has a lack of public support; and a large majority of the programs that are federally funded have been found to be factually and medically inaccurate. Proper and comprehensive sex education should be required in all states across the nation. States should also shift their focus from abstinence-based practices to more comprehensive ones that include information about contraceptive use, pregnancies, abortions, and sexually transmitted diseases.

Nearly one million teen girls become pregnant each year, with four out of 10 young women becoming pregnant at least once before they turn 20. The federal government spends about $40 billion to help families that began with a teenage birth. The overall U.S. teenage pregnancy rate declined 19 percent between 1991 and 1997 , from 117 pregnancies per 1,000 women aged 15-19 to 94.3 per 1,000.3 The national teen birth rate declined 5 percent between 1998 and 2000, reaching a rate of 48.5 births per 1,000 women ages 15-19 - the lowest rate ever recorded. Since 20011, the teen birth rate has declined 22 percent. These numbers, though declining, show that we are in dire need of a change. Providing Sex Education in schools provides the necessary tools to decrease these numbers and change the thoughts and actions of children who act impulsively with little or no knowledge of the consequences of their actions.