The goal of education should be, obviously, to educate students in the most effective and accurate manner possible.

The subsidized education that our government provides us has been invaluable in creating a better educated populous. However, our government has failed our children in one of the most fundamental and vital subjects: sex education. The opportunity to learn accurately and objectively about human sexuality should be a right given to students through our education system.

Furthermore, the lessons taught in sex ed should transcend ideological objections to give our students the information they need and deserve. Because of this, the presence of abstinence-only education in our public school system is an insult to the quality of our education and presents a danger to America’s youth. 

For those fortunate enough to be unfamiliar with the subject, abstinence-only education is sex ed that’s sole purpose is to encourage youth to abstain from sexual intercourse until marriage. While the morality behind such education is not necessary a negative thing, advocates often distort the facts and refrain from teaching students valuable information about sexuality. Furthermore, this kind of education has shown to be dangerous when information is withheld from students.

Only 24 states and the District of Columbia require sex education to be taught in schools. Of those states, only 21 states and Washington, D.C., require both HIV and sex education and only 13 require the information to be medically accurate. These numbers should be utterly terrifying, but it only gets worse. Only two of these states restrict schools from promoting religion during sex education. This means that the majority of this country does not require schools to accurately and objectively teach students about sex. That is unacceptable.

Sex is a natural part of life. The only reason you and I are having this dialogue is because of sex. Furthermore, teen sex and sex out of wedlock are not a new phenomenon. No matter one’s moral stance on the issue, the safety of individuals should take priority over ideology. It is in that regard that abstinence-only education falls flat.

During the past 25 years, the U.S Congress has spent more than $1.5 billion on abstinence-only education.

In 2007, a study found that this bastardized excuse for education has had no impact on teen sexual behavior nor does it have any effect on rates of HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases. In fact, the study shows that this kind of sex ed can negatively impact the sexual health of young people. Individuals who have taken virginity pledges and abstinence-only education were only found to delay sexual intercourse for only an average of 18 months. Furthermore, these individuals were one-third less likely to use contraceptives and were less likely to seek medical treatment for STIs than those who have had real sex education.

While advocates for abstinence-only education argue that these programs give unbiased information about sex, this claim could not be further from the truth. In a 2004 report by the Government Reform Committee, 11 of the most commonly used abstinence-only programs contain severe factual errors. These programs are used in 69 different organizations spanning 25 states in the United States and assert false claims about condom use, HIV and abortion. Some of these claims are devastating to young learners, asserting that condoms do not prevent STDs, that HIV can be spread through sweat and tears and that women who have abortions are more prone to suicide.

Supporters of abstinence-only education also assert that their programs represent “American values.” While it is in my experience that when people use the phrase “American values” they are only talking about their personal values, the evidence seems to be in my favor.

The average age of sexual initiation is 17, while the average age of marriage is around 25. In a national study, 95 percent of individuals between the ages of 18 and 44 have had premarital sex. Furthermore, American parents are overwhelmingly in favor of accurate sex education — 99 percent want their kids to receive information about STDs and HIV, 96 percent want students to learn the basics of “how babies are made” and 83 percent want youth to know how to put a condom on. However, 93 percent want their children to wait until marriage.

While this is perfectly acceptable, as it is a parent’s job to wish their children the safest life possible, parents should encourage moral attitudes about sex is within their family. In school, accurate information should be the priority.

There has been a dramatic drop in teen pregnancy since 1995. While advocates of abstinence only attempt to take the credit, 85 percent of the decline can be attributed to easier access to contraceptives. Although the effectiveness of contraceptives have been called into question by those who promote abstinence-only education, failure rates are as low as .5 percent.

While abstinence is not a bad thing — as it should be up to one’s moral compass to choose how to express their sexuality — presenting false information and denying real education about sexual health is damaging to America’s youth. Currently, there is no federal funding for comprehensive sexual education programs. Federal funding is exclusively put toward abstinence-only programs, which have proven to be ineffective. We owe it to our children to present objective and accurate information about human sexuality in our public schools and we need to do it now.