User:Acassler/Sex education in the United States

Regional Influences
While sex education is taught at nearly every high school in the United States, local beliefs and practices regarding sex heavily influence the way that sex education is taught. In general, teaching some form of sex education is widely supported by the American public, but beliefs about whether or not sex should be only between married people can dictate if local schools teach abstinence only education, or if they include lessons about contraceptives and STI prevention. States in the Southern and Midwestern parts of the United States are likely to believe that sex should only happen within a marriage. They are also the states with the highest percentage of schools teaching abstinence-only sex education. The Western and  Northeastern parts of the United States are likely to include lessons about various methods of engaging in sexual activity and using contraceptives and/or STI prevention tools. Despite these differences, most of the United States favors stressing abstinence, via the abstinence only, or abstinence best approach. However, community and regional views on premarital sex are ultimately reflected in whether or not, or to what degree, the methods of safe sex are additionally taught to students.

Consent curriculum
Though the concept of consent is often seen as a fundamental pillar of sex education curriculum, research shows few states view it as a necessity to K-12 education. Of the 18 states examined, it was found only one-- the State of Oregon-- explicitly required students to define the means of consent in a sexual context: a standard not mandatory until high school, as consent is only briefly mentioned in Oregon's middle school curriculum. It is worth noting the State of New Jersey does make reference to sexual consent, however, little is said whether there exists criteria for students to showcase comprehension.

More often, consent is seen within the domain of upper-level education. Many states have specific legislation mandating public state universities to implement this curriculum, such as California and New York. With 30.3% of high school graduates not going onto university, lack of consent standards in high school classrooms leaves a sizable portion of young adults never receiving a formal education on the topic.

Abstinence Only Education
Abstinence-only education began its rise in the 1980’s with congress’s Adolescent Family Life Act, which encouraged young people in the United States to abstain from sexual intercourse prior to adulthood and marriage. The infiltration of abstinence only education was largely brought about by heteronormative Christian ideals of the 1970s and 1980s that wanted public schools to have a focus on the teachings of the bible. This specific avenue for sex education was given more relevance by the idea that sex- education that focused on reproductive health (i.e. Condoms, hormonal birth control) was promoting a fast and loose attitude about teenagers having sex. As opposed to providing resources for teens to engage in sexual activity, the abstinence only movement focused primarily on ways to avoid sexual pressure and express the perceived benefits to abstaining. As of right now, thirty eight out of the fifty states provide sex education and thirty of those thirty eight have a focus on abstinence at least until the end of the students teen years, some even promoting the abstaining of sexual activity until marriage.

Legally, abstinence-only education took a turn in the late 1980s with the Supreme Court case Bowen V. Kendrick. In Bowen V. Kendrick, the Court had to decide whether or not there was a first amendment violation in the Adolescent Family Life Act to call on various religious and governmental organizations for funding to continue their message. The court decided there was no violation, breaking down a huge hurdle for the pro-abstinence movement. Moreover, it wasn’t until the 1980’s-1990’s in which AIDS/HIV was heightened, that abstinence only-education gained widespread attention. People knew what it was and what it was preaching. Abstinence only and sex education plays a big yet controversial role in the outcomes of sexual health of young adults. It largely affects the risk of teen pregnancy as well as STD’s. Abstinence only-education is largely against the use of contraceptives and promotes the idea of not having sex outside of marriage. It excludes any sort of discussions in which talk about sexual health and or healthy relationships. Sex before marriage is seen as immoral and makes sure that their message is evident and clear for the younger audience, ones who are just now initiating in sexual activity. It teaches teens that not participating in any sort of sexual activity until marriage is the only morally and safe choice of route to go as sex before marriage is seen as immoral. Many people believe this is correct because it will prevent any sort of unexpected pregnancies. Other people argue that it is based on religious beliefs rather than scientific evidence. Additionally, they believe that it provides and promotes inaccurate information that reduces the overall sexual health of teens.

Research has shown that teachings of contraception were not associated with increased risk of adolescent sexual activity. Abstinence only programs were shown  that it does not delay sexual activity. On the other hand, it is shown that risky behaviors are reduced due to the fact that is emphasized in its teachings. Furthemore, in the article, “Abstinence-only and Comprehensive Sex Education and the Initiation of Sexual Activity and Teen Pregnancy” it shows that adolescents who have received sex education were significantly less likely to report teen pregnancy than those who received no formal sex education.. It concluded that teachings about contraception did not have to do with increased risk of adolescent sexual activity or STD’s. Teens who receive sex education had a lower risk of pregnancy and less of an urge to engage in risky behaviors. Abstinence-only education is associated with the “Don’t say gay” bill as they are both controversial topics related to sex education in the U.S. Both of these share a similar approach in which the conversation of sexuality is not discussed. Their approaches seem to prefer silence as they tend to avoid discussing and teaching comprehensive sex education. They both fail to provide young people with education regarding their bodies and sexuality.