In 2011 the teenage pregnancy rate was 57 per 1000 15-19 year olds. In the Netherlands it was 14. The difference? The Netherlands has comprehensive sex ed from a very young age while the United States has a patchwork system that in many places actively teaches incorrect information. The United States needs comprehensive sex ed, not only to encourage physical health, but to encourage tolerance and mental health.
Comprehensive sex ed improves health. This is simply a fact. Almost 75% of US high schools teach abstinence only sex education. Abstinence only sex ed is not only ineffective (teenagers who receive abstinence only education are no more likely to remain abstinent than their peers who receive comprehensive sex ed), but it achieves worse health outcomes. Teens educated only in abstinence are not more likely to delay sex, but they are more likely to not use contraception in their first sexual experience, compared to teens who receive comprehensive sex ed. Additionally, states that mandate abstinence only have higher rates of teenage pregnancy and STDs. States actively work against all medical evidence on this subject; in fact, only 20 states require that sex education be medically accurate. Given this, it’s no wonder that comprehensive sex ed was found in Dutch schools to significantly reduce the risk of STDs and teenage pregnancy if started at a young age.
Sex ed does more than just encourage health; it also promotes tolerance. Currently most American children never learn about LGBT issues. Only 5% of LGBT people said their sex education included positive representations of LGBT topics. Even teens that do receive sex ed that talks about contraception generally don’t receive sex ed that addresses the LGBT community’s specific needs when it comes to issues like STD prevention, contraception, or abortion. This is important because there’s often few other places LGBT people can go to learn about these topics. Most LGBT people do not report feeling comfortable talking to adults about such matters, resulting in many turning online, where the information is neither guaranteed to be appropriate or medically accurate. This not only leads to LGBT teens who are wildly uneducated about themselves, but to self hatred an intolerance. Currently teens, no matter their identity, simply are not educated about LGBT people. This leaves questioning teens with virtually no one to turn to and leaves non LGBT teens with little information about their peers. This breeds intolerance.
Without comprehensive sex ed the United States will continue to have teenage pregnancy and STD rates considerably above those of countries with comprehensive sex ed. Bad sex ed not only encourages unwanted health consequences, but actively encourages intolerance and self hatred. Medically accurate, comprehensive sex ed is the only way to solve this crisis of American schooling. Sex education is the scientific education battle of our time, just as evolution was for generations past. For a truly healthy society, in terms of both social and physical wellness, comprehensive sex education is required.
Liberal Talking Head 