|
|
|
| Current Issue |
|
|
| Resources |
|
|
|
Two Responses: Childhood and Sexual Behavior
| Article
# : |
10654 |
|
|
Section : |
MODERN THOUGHT
|
| Issue
Date : |
7 / 1993 |
1,357 Words |
| Author
: |
Wade F. Horn
Wade F. Horn is an affiliate scholar of the Institute for
American Values in New York City. He lives in Gaithersburg,
Maryland. |
Childhood. The word conjures up images of days spent busily exploring, learning, and growing; a time filled with wonder and dreams, nurtured and protected by caring and loving parents and supportive communities. A happy, healthy, and secure childhood: This is the birthright of every child.
But for far too many children in America today--not all, but too many--childhood has become hard and bleak. Nowhere is this more striking than in the area of teenage sexuality. We know, for example, that each and every day:
7,700 teenagers become sexually active;
2,700 teenagers become pregnant;
1,100 teenagers have abortions;
600 teenagers get syphilis or gonorrhea; and
(perhaps not coincidentally) 6 teenagers commit suicide.
These shocking statistics about adolescent sexual activity have led some to counsel drastic measures. Honest, well-meaning people are advocating that the only reasonable response to the dramatic rise in teen pregnancy and disease is to teach teenagers how to use condoms and to make condoms available to them. There is a certain apparent logic to this argument. After all, if a teenager must engage in sex, then at least we ought to try to prevent the most negative consequences of doing so.
But when one examines this approach--to tell teenagers on the one hand that they should abstain from sex, but, if they find they can't, here's how to protect themselves--it becomes clear that this approach is bound to fail. And for two very good reasons.
LEARN FROM PAST MISTAKES
First, such an approach confuses intervention (what to do when a teenager is already sexually active) with prevention (what to do to stop a teenager from becoming sexually active). For children who are sexually active, knowledge of how to protect oneself from sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy is important. But sexual activity at age twelve or thirteen, even if that child is adequately protected from the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy, is surely not what most people
...
Read Full Article
Look for this article in Ask.com
|
|
