Being the parent of a teen isn’t easy. Issues like popularity, driving and romance seemingly creep up overnight for teens. Suddenly their lives are outside of the home, where they’re influenced by their peers more than their family. Another unavoidable aspect of children entering their teen years is their increased sexuality and the flood of feelings, desires and questions that accompany it. Teens in the U.S. today are inundated with sexual images from the media, their peers and most other sources of youth culture. Sex, without a doubt, remains a hot seller. However, many problems are also being followed by this trend, including the highest teen pregnancy rate in the Western, industrialized world. With this disturbing reality, it’s no wonder sex education in schools is such a hot topic. However, this sex education teens are receiving in school might be of little to no value to them.
This last march President Obama renewed legislation providing funding to schools that provided abstinence-focused education. This renewal is for $50 million per year for the next five years. As a requirement of this legislation, programs receiving this funding must "teach that abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain way to avoid out-of-wedlock pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and other associated health problems," according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Opponents to this legislation, though, are quick to point out that this legislation has shown no positive results and are troubled that $250 million is going to these state programs. These vocal opponents instead support evidence-based sex education.
Besides the wasted funding on ineffective programs, this legislative choice can have potentially dangerous effects on teens. As a result of the selectively-chosen content schools teach, teens are far more likely to grow up without the ability to make responsible, informed decisions. There is no evidence that providing information on safer forms of sex validates the act, as many proponents of abstinence-focused education feel. However, there is proof that the current abstinence push from the government fails to produce any concrete benefits. The U.S. has seen that after years of ineffective abstinence-only education and millions spent, little progress in the realm of teen pregnancy has been seen. Obviously, some changes must be made before we can expect pregnancy rates among teens in the U.S. to lower. Furthermore, providing information on safe sex will protect teens that are already sexually active by providing practical advice and safer options.
Candid sexual education programs are also vital to warning teens of unsafe methods of pregnancy prevention, like oral contraceptives. These hormonal-altering medications, while up to 99% effective, can lead teens to falsely believe they offer protection to other unwanted results of sex, like disease. The growing number of grievances against oral contraceptive manufacturers, best illustrated by the immense number of Yaz lawsuits, indicates that such birth control options might not be safe, especially if used over a prolonged period of time.
Serious and sometimes fatal side effects, including heart attack, stroke, blood clots, pulmonary embolisms, and gallbladder disease have been seen with the use of Yaz, specifically. Furthermore, the FDA found advertising by this company dishonest and misleading. The agency asked the manufacturer, Bayer HealthCare, to fix the inaccuracies in their multimillion-dollar ad campaigns, which promoted the drug as a “quality-of-life treatment,” fighting acne and premenstrual depression as well. A further strike against this company came in 2009 when the FDA cited the manufacturer of Yaz, for failing to follow proper quality control procedures at a plant used to manufacture hormone ingredients for contraceptives.
The involvement of America’s top-selling oral contraceptive in so many public reprimands should act as a very real reminder to parents of teens of the risks their children face. Few other poor decisions can affect teens as greatly as teen pregnancy and safe contraceptive choice. Hopefully though, American legislators will begin applying funding to programs that work. Proposals for bills mandating age-appropriate sex-education classes including a variety of topics, from abstinence to contraceptives, are being seen more frequently throughout the U.S. Hopefully this signals the end of ineffective sex education in schools and a new trend of open discussion that arms teens with the information they need to stay safe in a climate of ever-increasing sexual pervasiveness.
Submitted by Matt Phillips
No comments:
Post a Comment