Condoms in High School

Condoms in High School

Condoms in High School

The debate on whether or not middle and high school students should be taught sex education has been going on for years. A new poll (NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, 2011 p.1) finds only seven percent of Americans say sex education should not be taught in schools. According to research, several reasons exist for not allowing students to be given condoms in school. However, for the purpose of this essay, the writer will investigate the following: (1) Pregnancies; (2) Disease; (3) Education, and (4) Money. All of these are great reasons condoms should be offered to any middle or high school student wanting them.

Teen pregnancy has been a problem in our country for years. Although the teen pregnancy rate has decreases over the years, according to ( Santelli, 2007, p.1) “the majority (86%) of the decline in the teen pregnancy rate between 1995 and 2002 was the result of dramatic improvements in contraceptive use, including an increase in the proportion of teens using a single method of contraception, an increase in the proportion using multiple methods simultaneously and a substantial decline in nonuse.” Condoms and contraception’s are the next best thing to abstinence in preventing teenage pregnancies. Allowing students to have access to condoms can keep the number of teen pregnancies down, and help to continually decrease the number as years pass.

Sexually transmitted diseases are becoming a rising problem in America. According to dosomething.org, 10,000 teens are infected by sexually transmitted infections, per day! That is one every eight seconds. Condoms do not protect from all diseases such as herpes and AIDS, but the most common infections contracted by teens can be stopped with usage of a condom.

The third reason condoms should be given out in schools, is to better teen’s education about pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. With open minds teens may...