Breaking news: teens have sex! However, due to the lack of comprehensive sex education across the United States, they will often be poorly versed in these matters, leading to possible teen pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
34 out of 50 states require abstinence to be taught and 37% of states allow inaccurate sexual education according to Jillian McKoy of Boston University, despite the fact that the World Health Organization—an organization that the United States was part of until early 2025—explicitly advises teaching comprehensive sexual education.
Abstinence-only sexual education, ones that teach students to avoid sex, often drill into students the dangers of AIDs and HIV without mentioning that there are ways to prevent contracting these diseases without abstaining from sexual activity. These programs however, neglect to mention other sorts of STIs and the fact that STIs may be asymptomatic and even be obtained without ever having sexual intercourse.
With proper education students would be able to know about proper prevention methods to avoid contracting an STI, along with the fact that testing is crucial in order for one to know about their STI status. With HIV there is Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, commonly known as PrEP, a type of medication meant to be taken for those at high risk of contracting HIV, and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) which is meant to be used for those who have possibly contracted HIV and helps prevent the virus from developing. And of course, condom usage, both male and female, helps prevent the spread of all STIs.
Along with the excessive fear mongering about HIV, several states lack education about contraceptives and consent. This lack of education does not prevent young adults from engaging in sexual intercourse, but merely prevents them from knowing ways to prevent pregnancy and STI contraction. Those who promote an abstinence-only education clamor over teen pregnancy, yet also deny teens education about how to prevent pregnancy. The teen birth rate is dropping, but as comprehensive sexual education fades out of the spotlight, one is left wondering if this arises from teenagers getting their education from the internet, begging questions about information accuracy and online safety. In addition, by not teaching about consent, youth in America may not know how to say no, which could cause traumatic sexual experiences that will impact them for the rest of their lives.
Michigan is one of these states that fails the youth. The only thing that Michigan requires students to learn about is AIDs and HIV. Once students finish learning about this STI, accuracy can be thrown out the window and so can any other information regarding sexual education. Abstinence must be highlighted and seen as the correct choice, but once again, it fails to mention that one can still get an STI or pregnant inside of a marriage. During my Michigan sanctioned sexual education, I was essentially crammed in a dank room with 20 other middle schoolers and told, “Don’t get AIDs.”
Overall, by denying students a complete sexual education, we deny them STI prevention, safety from assault and security in their own sexuality. Education can be accessed through the internet; however, unless students go to the correct sites, they may be misinformed; therefore, an accurate comprehensive sexual education is critical to any school curriculum.
