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Alaina Gates

Mrs. Gustafson

English 3H

2 November 2022

Generations Later

Unplanned teenage pregnancy does not just affect one person. It is not just the

mother-to-be, nor is it just the product of the pregnancy that is affected. Most people do not think

about the long-term effects, and how the event of an unplanned teenage pregnancy snowballs

itself into bigger problems generation after generation. The children and grandchildren are

forever affected by the lack of a proper parent-child relationship, and many fall into that same

trap of early parenthood. Teenage pregnancy is luckily preventable. The improvement of sex

education and the teaching of safe contraceptive options in school at a younger age helps to

lower the rates of pregnancy in teens, educates about the prevention of sexually transmitted

diseases, and in turn, helps to lower the rates of abortion. The current sex education that is being

offered in the curriculum is not properly regulated, the current most common teachings are

harmful to the safety and health of our youth. There are better ways to teach children about

themselves and their health in a safe environment, rather than leaving it solely up to their parents.

In Illinois, the curriculum is laid out very clearly. According to the Illinois State Board of

Education, the standard for sex education in Illinois is to teach seven key topics: Consent and

Healthy Relationships, Anatomy and Physiology, Puberty and Adolescent Sexual Development,

Gender Identity and expression, Sexual Orientation and Identity, Sexual Health, and

Interpersonal Violence (ISBE). These seven key topics laid out in the Illinois curriculum are the

same as the National standards but are only partially regulated. Even though these are the
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standards for Illinois sex education, these are not the requirements. As stated on the Illinois State

Board of Education’s website, “Sex education in Illinois is optional for districts to provide”

(ISBE). It is also stated that parents are able to opt-out of the sex education that is provided at

schools. The option for parents to opt-out works well to regulate the information that individuals

get, a choice made for these children by people they know. The problem lies in the fact that

entire school districts are able to decide if they are going to teach sex education. This leaves

plenty of room for children to fall through the cracks and not get the education they actually

need. These standards have already sparked some arguments about what should be taught.

According to an ABC news article written by Aj Gersh, Kathleen Willis, a Democrat

representing District 77 near Chicago, speaks of many of the school districts in her area adopting

the new curriculum. This directly clashes with the words of Republican Illinois State

Representative Adam Niemerg, who claims that most of the schools in his area are opting out of

the program (Gersh). These opposing views need to come to a consensus on what should be

implemented in schools, so as to not let any children be left behind without the education they

need or deserve. These children that end up not getting the education they need are more

susceptible to unhealthy relationships.

Currently, those who are most affected by teenage pregnancy are minorities. According to

data collected by the CDC, “In 2019, the birth rates for Hispanic teens (25.3) and non-Hispanic

Black teens (25.8) were more than two times higher than the rate for non-Hispanic White teens

(11.4).” (CDC). These statistics are getting better and better each year, with more and more

decline in numbers, but those who are minorities are experiencing less progress in lowering rates

of pregnancy. This, of course, begs the question of why. When looking deeper into the

breakdown of sex education in America, the answer is clear. According to CNN’s ethnicity
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breakdown of the United States, many of the states that are illustrated stress abstinence only.

CNN’s ethnicity breakdown helps show where many of these minorities are located, and when

compared to SIECUS' Sex Ed State Law & Policy Chart, which illustrates which states stress

abstinence only, they correspond (CNN & SIECUS). What this all means, is the same areas

where sex education is failing to be taught, are the same areas that are most commonly

experiencing teenage pregnancies. Meaning these pregnancies are most likely a product of this

lack of education. The effects of teaching absence only reach further than teenage pregnancies.

Not only does sex education help teach about reproduction, but it also teaches about healthy

relationships and sexually transmitted diseases. According to the National Library of Medicine,

“Abstinence-only curricula have been found to contain scientifically inaccurate information,

distorting data on topics such as condom efficacy, and promoting gender stereotypes” (NIH). The

data from these recent findings from this depicts the severity of teaching an inaccurate subject.

One thing that was mentioned in the National Library of medicine’s study was the effects that

abstinence-only teaching has on the data relating to condom efficiency. This brings up the topic

of contraceptives.

Sex education does more than teach the basics of the “birds and bees.” Sex education

teaches children from a young age to build healthy relationships, the upkeep of sexual health,

and use contraceptives. Sex education gradually introduces the basics of consent and bodily

autonomy from a young age. These things are important to teach at a young age to help protect

children from sexual violence, and to keep them aware of their relationships with others. The

things that children would learn in their sex education class are important things for kids to know

to help prevent sexual assault. As stated by an article written by Megan Osbren, the teachings of

consent, autonomy, boundaries, and trusting yourself to young children helps to prevent sexual
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assault in future generations (HCWC). Teaching sex education is extremely important in the

protection of children in general, but it also helps the protection of these kids as they grow up.

Removing any sort of stigma surrounding this kind of education at a young age is critical to

helping protect children from unhealthy relationships and situations.

The teaching of contraceptives directly correlates with the decline in teenage pregnancy.

According to data collected by Guttmacher Institution and their director of public policy, Heather

Boonstra; "Teens’ increased use of contraceptives indicates their increased commitment to

protecting themselves from risk," (Boonstra). Not only is the use of contraceptives helping lower

rates of teen pregnancies, but is also teaching about protection from other things such as sexually

transmitted diseases. Teenagers knowing about the risks helps them to make more educated

decisions and to be careful with what they do. These things that would be taught in sex education

would not normally be brought up in everyday life for most people. This means that the only

place some kids learn these things is in school. This is another important reason why there needs

to be a better standard for sex education in America. A study done by the National; Library of

Medicine states that “The CHOICE Project also found that when cost is removed, the majority

of adolescents (~70%) would choose LARC (long-acting reversible-contraceptives)” (NIH). This

study helps to further the point that contraceptive use on the part of teenagers is extremely

beneficial. This promoted use of contraceptives is a healthy habit for teenagers. The more that

these topics that are deemed “taboo” are talked about, the more normalized these topics become.

The stigma surrounding any talk about sex and sexual health needs to be stopped in order to

ensure the safety and health of generations yet to come. This desensitization to perfectly normal

and natural behavior helps create a better environment for generations to come and helps protect

the children of today.

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On the other side of things, there is a cause for concern. Some parents want to be

involved in informing their children of such a universal experience. Everyone needs to know

certain things about themselves, and some parents want to be the ones to teach their own

children. Whether this is for cultural or religious reasons or even just the want to monitor what is

being taught, parents are concerned about the information that their children consume. Whether

this is through the elusive “talk” that many kids have to sit through or just the need to control,

some parents want to be the ones to teach their children. The biggest reason for complaints about

sex education coming from school is the religious side of it. Teaching anything but

abstinence-only could be against the wishes of some parents. According to an article written by

an organization called Catholic Parents Online, “The primary teachers of children are their

parents. It is their right and responsibility to teach sexual morality to their children.” (CPO). This

same article goes on to talk about the ways that these children could be taught this subject.

Parents never truly know exactly what is being taught to their children, and in such a

touchy topic, it is difficult to let children learn through someone else, all while not knowing

exactly what is being taught. The article mentions not knowing what goes on behind “closed

doors,” hinting at the fact that this curriculum is extensive, and some things that you want to

keep your child from you are not able to do if you let them through the school offered programs

(CPO). This also raises the concern about not knowing exactly what is being taught to your child

since you are not there in the classroom to monitor it, and the child will not accurately relay the

information, so there is no way for certain to know just the education that your child is getting.

The main concern with parents teaching their children is not every parent thinks to teach their

child all the lessons they get in sex education classes. The main cause for concern is the teaching

of consent and health relationships. Many people, even adults, are not aware of their situations if
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they were raised a certain way. Some people may not realize all the way into adulthood that they

do not have healthy relationships, and teaching this to their children furthers the problem

Keeping everything in mind, there is more good than bad caused by introducing sex

education to children in schools. Taking religious reasons into account, there is still much to gain

for a child receiving proper sex education. Learning more than just abstinence as a form of birth

control helps keep adolescents safe and protected from any risks and teaches them about

self-awareness. This education also protects the younger children from harmful situations or

relationships they otherwise wouldn’t understand. The benefits of sex education far outweigh the

downsides in the sense that children are better able to protect themselves from a multitude of

things and ensure a healthy lifestyle for themselves and for the generations that come after them.

The implementation of proper sex education in schools will overall better the quality of

education for children. Not only does sex education teach about self-awareness, autonomy, and

sexual health, but the betterment of sex education helps to reduce the stigma surrounding sex in

general, creating a healthier environment for everyone. Making the change to better sex

education now helps to better the lives of generations to come, instead of harming them with

poor decisions and ignorance.

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Works Cited

“About Teen Pregnancy.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention, 15 Nov. 2021, www.cdc.gov/teenpregnancy/about/index.htm.

“Declines in Teen Pregnancy Risk Entirely Driven by Improved Contraceptive Use.” Guttmacher

Institute, 24 Aug. 2022,

www.guttmacher.org/news-release/2016/declines-teen-pregnancy-risk-entirely-driven-impr

oved-contraceptive-use.

Gersh, AJ. “Many Illinois Schools Opting out of National Sex Education Standards.” WICS,

WICS, 3 Aug. 2022,

newschannel20.com/news/local/isbe-adopts-national-sex-education-standards-many-illinoi

s-schools-opting-out#:~:text=In accordance with the National,, pregnancy, and sexual

health.

“Map: Race and Ethnicity across the US.” CNN, Cable News Network,

www.cnn.com/interactive/2021/us/census-race-ethnicity-map/.

Osborne, Megan. “7 Things We Can Teach Children to Prevent Sexual Assault in Future

Generations.” Stop the Hurt, 5 June 2019, stopthehurt.org/7-things-to-end-sexual-assault/.

Ott, Mary A, and John S Santelli. “Abstinence and Abstinence-Only Education.” Current

Opinion in Obstetrics & Gynecology, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Oct. 2007,

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5913747/.

“TEN GOOD REASONS TO OPPOSE PUBLIC SCHOOL SEX EDUCATION.” Catholic

Parents OnLine, 16 Nov. 2020,

catholicparents.org/ten-good-reasons-oppose-public-school-sex-education/.

Todd, Nicole, and Amanda Black. “Contraception for Adolescents.” Journal of Clinical
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Research in Pediatric Endocrinology, Galenos Publishing, 6 Feb. 2020,

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7053440/.

“{{CurrentPage.Title}}.” Illinois State Board of Education, www.isbe.net/sexualhealth.