Does Abstinence-Only Education Decrease Teen Pregnancy?

Teen Pregnancy
Since 1997 the federal government has invested millions of dollars in Abstinence Only Education programs which have been proven to be ineffective programs. Even though abstinence is the best option for teens not to get pregnant, most teens tend to experiment with sex at young ages. Teens naturally have a sense of curiosity about their bodies and the opposite sex, not to mention that their bodies are going through hormonal changes (puberty). After the Obama Administration created a budget for sex education programs, teen pregnancies have been declining further than with just the contraception movement. As Molly Hennessy-Fiske reported in the Los Angeles Times, “Sex education in schools has helped teens decrease teen pregnancies
Carr has found why a state like Texas is on the opposite side of the drop, “…a survey found that a ‘quiet revolution’ was underway in Texas with abstinence-only instruction being replaced by abstinence-plus sex education programs (although abstinence-only programs continue to be the predominant approach in the state)” (Carr). Titania Kumeh writes, “Unlike in Texas, California’s schools teach comprehensive sex education (29 births per 1,000 teen girls)” (Los Angeles Times, 2013). Prevention works by teaching teens how and why to delay sex and the steps that they need to take if they become sexually active. The program that has been shown to work is sex
Starting with children, parents should have age appropriate discussions with them about love, relationships, values, and physical anatomy. It is more appropriate to be open and honest while talking to children and teens than to keep the information from them. Boys and girls should know what a penis, scrotum, and vagina are without using substitutes like calling them "wee-wee or pee-pee.” Parents should not be afraid to answer their kids ' questions about their bodies or the opposite sex. Withholding the information results in ignorance and, with something as purely natural as sexuality, there is not really a reason not to teach about it. Parents should answer their kids ' more in-depth questions when they are asked (i.e. “Where do babies come from?”) regardless of the age. If the honest answer is good enough, or the kid is a little confused but wanders off satisfied with the answer, which is great. If children continue to ask more questions, the answers should continue to be honest and presented in a way the kid can understand. If parents make sex education an open topic with their children, the kids will feel more comfortable talking and asking questions about sex and their body changes when they turn into teens. If parents discourage talking or answering questions, teenagers will be looking for answers from their friends and the media. In our survey we found, in the filtered information, that teens