Sex-Ed

Jennifer Lopez

My cousin just like me and the rest of my family grew up with the knowledge that sex should wait until marriage. It’s all based on religious beliefs, whenever the topic arose her parents would tell her “All you need to know is to wait until you are married.” Once she had a question about what they had told her school about preventive topics and her mom not knowing what to say or how to respond just told her once again wait till marriage and do not use protection because God created man and women to have children.

Trying to live up to the religious and family expectations, she stayed focused on school work and avoided parties because “parties will lead to pregnancy.” At the age of fifteen my cousin met the guy she believed was the “love of her life”.One year after being with him they decided it was time to prove their love to each other. Not knowing the consequences of unprotected sex because all she was ever told was no sex till marriage, my cousin at age sixteen got pregnant.

My cousin had no resources, she did not know where to get help because none of this information was given to her and if it was it came from friends who just told her nothing but myths. My aunt was upset but understood that if her daughter would have received more information on sexual health that could have prevented.

Recently I talked to her again and she told me that if she would have received more information on sexual health like I did through Planned Parenthood she probably would not have gotten pregnant. This why Sex Education is important and should be taught in middle school and high school. It should be accurate and understandable to teens because if they do not understand a certain topic how would one ensure that they learned something? It is no lie that teen pregnancy rates are high, along with STDs. Based on the maps in the Huffington Post and on the website of Adolescent Health, they reveal that in Texas if sex education is given they must mention abstinence but not contraception. Due to that decision Texas is one of the states with the highest teen pregnancy rates. In California where teens gain knowledge of both abstinence and contraception, the teen pregnancy rate is much lower than in Texas. Teens need to know how they can protect themselves if they are ready to have intercourse and teens should be taught the consequences of having unprotected sex. This conversation is less likely to happen at home, teens do not feel comfortable going home and saying “Mom, what’s sex?” or “Mom what’s a condom and how does it work?” Parents and teens do not usually want to talk about the topic and so it should be talked about in school.

Teens have the right to know much more then just “Don’t have sex till you’re married, do not use protection because God created man and women to create children.”