Condoms In Texas High Schools Essay

Every year the population in Texas is steadily growing. One social issue that continues to challenge Texas residents is Teen Pregnancy. According to the Texas Department of Health, "every ten minutes a Texas teen becomes pregnant." Because of those statistics Texas has held one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the United States. Which raises the question, Should condoms be available to teens in Texas high schools? Some parents and educators suggest that providing condoms in Texas high schools is condoning sexual behavior. Others believe that teens should have access to condoms to help protect their sexual health and an unwanted pregnancy. After considering both sides of the issues I strongly suggest that condoms be available for teens in Texas high schools so they are properly equipped to have safe sex and to decrease the rates of unwanted teen pregnancy and teens contracting STD's or HIV.
In Texas, right now abstinence-only programs are a teen’s only choice for sex education. An abstinence-only program will only teach that sex is bad and something of which to be ashamed. I think teens should be provided sexual education that is useful to them in making personal decisions such as engaging in sexual behavior as well as having access to condoms to protect themselves. Teens today have sexual message surrounding them every day through advances in technology, media, and advertisements. So, to assume that teens will remain abstinent is ignorant. The pressure to have sex is going to be there regardless. Peer pressure is part of the process of growing up. The decisions that teens make today could impact them the rest of their