Safe Sex, Or Is It? Essay, Research Paper

Safe Sex. Or is it? The number of teenagers having sex is increasing every year. With sexually transmitted diseases prevalent more than ever, thePhiladelphia Board of Education has decided to allow high schoolsto distribute condoms to students. The board of Education isdoing this, to demonstrate to students that safe sex is a goodidea. I agree with the distribution of condoms in public highschools because it promotes safe sex among teenagers, allowsschools to supplement parental education, and teaches sexualresponsibility. Sexually transmitted diseases affect teenagers because someteenagers are not told the consequences of unprotected sex. Besides abstinence, condoms are the best protector from sexuallytransmitted diseases. High schools that distribute the condomsshow that they do not want to see children infected with diseasesor a teenage girl to become pregnant. Continuing to promote safesex, the high schools and the Board of Education decrease thechances of teenagers catching a disease or becoming pregnant. The promotion regarding safe sex, almost seems like theconversation a parent would have with their child about sex. The Board of Education promotes safe sex that way to make thesubject of safe sex more comfortable for a parent to talk to hisor her child about safe sex. The distribution of condoms in high schools allows the Boardof Education and public high schools to intervene as a parentalfigure and give parental advice. Their are a lot of households,were the parents do not bother themselves with their children andlet their kids run wild. Kids who are raised in thosecircumstances sometimes will have sex to get the attention theywant and to be loved. The distribution of condoms shows that theBoard of Education and public high schools care about the welfareof teenagers. Some parents object to high schools distributingcondoms, because the parents say the Board of Education and the

high schools send the wrong message. Some parents complain thatthe Board of Education is promoting premarital sex. Theseparents say that the best policy of preventing disease andpregnancy is to practice abstinence. The Board of Educationargues that if the students decide to have sex, then they shouldbe protected. This is why condoms are being distributed. It isnot to say Go ahead and have sex, but if a student decides tohave sex, that student should protect his or herself. Thedecision to have sex is the students responsibility. Distributing condoms also teaches responsibility, by givingthe student the opportunity to protects his or herself. TheBoard of Education and public high schools teach teenagers tolook at the situations and decide for his or herself what is right, and what is wrong. After all, the teenagers are the oneswho make the decision whether or not to have sex. As teenagersget older, their responsibilities increase, but with sexuallytransmitted diseases and teenage pregnancy, the teenagersresponsibility starts when they decide to have sex. The Board ofEducation feels that the responsibility of safe sex is not theparents, but the teenagers. The distribution of condoms is a sincere gesture by theBoard of Education, and by allowing high schools to do this itshows that the high schools care about their students. Condomdistribution promotes safety, and it teaches responsibility. Themembers of the Board of Education know what it is like to be ateenager and a parent, and the Board of Education does not wantto see another teenager become pregnant, or worse die from beingirresponsible and having unprotected sex. The Board of Educationwants to see teenagers enjoying high school. High school is animportant step in a teenager s life and if teenagers are educatedabout all aspects of life and taught responsibility, they willgrow up to be mature adults.