English Four

Tuesday, January 7,1997

CONDOM DISTRIBUTION IN SCHOOLS CONDONES
PROMISCUITY AND INCREASES TEEN PREGNANCIES
A majority of high schools in the United States do not distribute condoms to
students.
Those few schools that do provide condoms state their reason that in doing so, they
will safely
decrease the number of teen pregnancies and cases of sexually transmitted diseases.
But if
students are exposed to condom distribution, they will get the idea that premarital
sex is okay,
and will do it without consideration. Statistics showing the condom failure rate
turn the belief of
reducing teen pregnancies around. Distributing condoms in schools condones
promiscuity and
increases teen pregnancies.
Condoms were invented to provide a barrier for protection against pregnancy and
sexually transmitted diseases. Since then, other forms of birth control have been
introduced and
proven more reliable than condoms. Depo-Provera, "The Pill", and Norplant are such
methods.
Every day, sex education classes promote condoms as means of safe sex or a least
safer sex. But
research on condoms provides no such guarantee. Texas researcher Susan Weller
reports that
condoms are only 87 percent effective in preventing pregnancy. Condoms do appear
to be
effective in preventing pregnancy when used "correctly and consistently". Most
individuals,
however, do not use them "correctly and consistently". In a municipal hospital
family planning
clinic, 36 percent of 106 people experienced condom breakage, and five percent of
the women's
unplanned pregnancies were attributed to broken condoms. A high school student
cannot afford
the risk of becoming pregnant.
The Catholic Church states that sex exists for means of expressing love between two
people and creation only, and frowns upon premarital sex or sexual intercourse
without using a
contraceptives. Catholic values state that abstinence should be practived and is
the safest
method of birth control there is.
Sexual promiscuity should not be taken as lightly as it is. Movies, songs, and
television
give messages that sexual promiscuity is "cool and attractive". If condoms are
distributed in
school, students would be living the life of a soap opera star. They see it as a
way to be cool and
protected at the same time. First, reputations and feelings are at risk, and
second, students are
risking teen pregnancy.
Today's teenagers face many pressures in their life including school, parents,
friends and
attitude. Society has been sending mixed messages to teens on sex. Parents tell
their children to
wait, while the media says "Go ahead and do it". If parents and sex educators
teach students that
they should wait, providing condoms in schools will pressure teens into sex
earlier, increasing
the number of sexually active students.
Sexual promiscuity should not be taken as lightly as it is. Movies, songs, and
television
give messages that sexual promiscuity is "cool and attractive". If condoms are
distributed in
school, students would be living the life of a soap opera star. They see it as a
way to be cool and
protected at the same time. First, reputations and feelings are at risk, and
second, students are
risking teen pregnancy.
Surprisingly, many schools throughout the United States adopt abstinence-only
programs.
The enthusiasm for these programs is well evident. Although the message of
abstinence is
criticized by some as inadequate, there are good reasons for promotion of
abstinence. Teenagers
want to learn about abstinence; not "everyone's doing it". In 1992, Center for
Disease Control
found that 43 percent of teenagers ages 14 to 17 had engaged in sexual intercourse
at least once.
This is less than half, which means that a majority of teens are not doing it.
Abstinence prevents
pregnancy. For example, the San Marcos Junior High in San Marcos, California,
adopted an
abstinence-only program developed by Teen-Aid. The curriculum dropped the school's
pregnancy rate from 147 to 20 within a two-year period.
America faces a long road ahead of them in fighting disease and poverty. The
battle may
never be won, but our children, the future leaders of the United States, need to be
set on the right
path before we can begin our road to victory.