Jay Gradner
Teens and Sex

An increasing problem on high school campuses and one of the main
concerns of parents, school officials, and the government is teenage sex.  It
is on the rise, and they are worried that it may get out of control.  Teenage
sex can be a problem because of the pregnancies and many diseases it can
cause.  One solution that has been proposed is to distribute condoms in
public high schools.  This is a topic that is controversial and has been
hotly debated for years.  There are people who think it would be a good idea
and those who think it may worsen the problem rather than solve it.<p>
<dd>The reason that people want to distribute condoms in high school is to
try to prevent teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and (I
separate this from the category of STD's because it is so widespread, deadly,
important, frightening, etc.) H.I.V infection.  The theory is that if condoms
were given out or made available at high schools, then the students would be
more inclined to use them.  They would have them or be able to get them if
they need to use them.  This would cut down on unprotected sexual intercourse
and prevent the pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, and H.I.V.
infection.  If a student was at a party and decided, on the spur of the
moment, to engage in sexual intercourse, then it is more likely that they
have a condom if schools distributed them.  This sounds good in theory, but
will it really work?  If schools distribute condoms, shouldn't they also
teach the students how to use them and teach them a little about sex (sex
education in schools, another controversial topic)?<p>
<dd>The world certainly needs to try to decrease teenage pregnancies, STD's,
and H.I.V. infection.  In an article from the New York Times, the United
Nations reports that women, especially sexually active teenage girls, have a
higher rate of H.I.V. infection than men in that age group.  It cited the
slow development of mucous membranes as the reason for the lower protection
against infection and increased risk of getting H.I.V.  It mentions that in
Rwanda, 25% of pregnant women are infected, and 17% of those who have teenage
sex will be infected.  Those numbers are staggering.  In the United States,
if even 5% of teenagers who have had sex become infected with H.I.V., then
that would translate to hundreds of thousands of teenagers.  This shows that
H.I.V. could be a bigger problem than it already is if nothing is done about
it, and some people think that distributing condoms would help keep the
problem from getting worse.<p>
<dd>Condom distribution might work, but what if the students do not use
them? Also, distributing condoms might start a student to become sexually
active that otherwise would not be.  Wouldn't condom distribution then
increase teenage sex thus increasing the chance of getting pregnant and
contracting H.I.V.?  Once this student becomes sexually active he or she
might not use a condom every time they have sex.  Even if they do, condoms
are not 100% effective.  I repeat-CONDOMS ARE NOT 100% EFFECTIVE.  They
are only 92-96% effective against pregnancy and not at all effective for
blocking H.I.V. transmission.  Wouldn't a better option then be to control
teenage sex?<p>
Making love is not something to play around with.  When people decide to
do it, they make a life and death decision.  If they contract an STD they
risk their life for death.  And if a woman gets pregnant, the woman is not
guaranteed to live through it (although chances are that she will), and the
child is not guaranteed to live for many reasons including abortion.<p>
Shouldn't steps be taken to educate teenagers about what they are
getting into before schools start handing out condoms?  This would be a
better way to prevent the spread of pregnancies and of STD's and H.I.V.
If teenagers do not have sex to begin with the risk of infection goes down
because, like I said, condoms are not 100% effective.  If they know more
about the risks, then they can make an educated decision about sex, and then
it will be very likely that they will use a condom if they decide to have
sex.  This is one alternative and might be a better policy to implement than
condom distribution.<p>
I think that starting in junior high school, students should learn about
pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and H.I.V.  There would be a course
or a section of a course dedicated to health where students learn about these
subjects.  Then in high school, students should do a more in-depth study of
the consequences of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.  This could
be done as a part of a biology course or as a research project in an English
class.  Finally, students should learn about H.I.V. and AIDS, how it affects
the lives of those who have it, and what can be done about it.  Again, this
could be a separate course that is required or a part of another required
course. Then, pamphlets about all these things should be made available at
the health (or nurse's) office and suggested for the students to read before
they receive condoms.  If this is done, then I believe that teenage sex
should be less of a problem than it is now.