Katharine Willegalle Mrs Welter Advanced Biology Anatomy January 3 2018 Should Schools Provide Condoms Over the least few years the number of reported S T I s in adolescents has risen by over 25 This rises the question of should school provide condoms for the students The short answer It depends on who you ask The American Academy of Pediatrics thinks schools should while many concerned parents think that schools should not There are many valid reasons for both sides of the debate yet the pros schools should provide condoms have more researched studies then the cons schools should not provide condoms The topics that will be examined in this paper are do condoms increase sexual activity are condoms an effective method of protection how common are condom availability programs and by providing condoms for teens does this put them at risk Currently 16 of girls and 29 of boy are sexually active before the age of 16 Although this is the highest the number has ever been it looks as though the number will not stop climbing anytime soon To many this number is already a concern because the legal age for consent is 16 So the fact that more then 15 of girls and almost 30 of boys are participating in sexual activity before the legal age of consent brings many to believe that something needs to change in sex education Many schools already provide some sort of sexual education The most common way that it Sex ED is taught is through the school just telling their kids to abstain and just not do which for many people is easier said then done One of the many reasons people believe that condoms should not be distributed is that they believe that condoms will increase sexual activity while in reality condom distribution does not increase sexual activity A pediatric study showed that the availability of condoms does not increase sexual activity but can decrease unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections Even though condom usage among teens are on the rise there are still many adolescents that are not using condoms especially in areas with not as much money In these areas many teens have no where to get a hold of condoms making their school the only feasible place to obtain protection
While condoms are one of the most effective contraceptives available Even though condoms are not entirely effective if used correctly and consistently latex condoms are between 98 and 99 effective Correct use means using undamaged unexpired condoms careful opening of the package correct placement and use throughout intercourse Although condoms are not entirely effective many people are willing to bet their chances on odds like that Reports show that in the U S less than 2 of condoms break and of the condoms that do break it is usually due to the misuse of the condom Unless condoms are used every time condoms loose a lot of the protection and a lot of teens are not super consistent with condom usage A study of 123 couples with one of the members having HIV when the condoms were used consistently none of the non infected partners contracted HIV Even with correct condom use it does not stop all new cases of sexually transmitted infections such as herpes and human papilloma but having available educational environments for student s raises awareness for risk avoidance How common are condom availability programs More common then you would think There are more than 418 schools in the U S alone that make condoms available to students There are many ways that different schools are making contraceptives available to their students from different strategies school nurses teachers classrooms counselors principal offices bowls and baskets around the school and vending machines While many schools are providing contraceptives 81 of schools require some type of parental consent before a student can obtain a condom in the 19 of schools that does not require parental consent usually have an opt out program where a parent can deny a student s access to condoms In schools with condom availability programs 98 have programs where students can receive counseling in 49 of those schools counseling is required for anyone trying to acquire a condom
Commonly the counseling includes information on abstinence instructions on proper use and and storage of the condoms and sometimes a demonstration on how the condom should be used All parents always want he best for their children and it is understandable that if condoms are made available some parents are worried that it may put their child at risk In a 1995 survey it found that 53 1 of high school students have ever had sexual intercourse 20 9 of males and 14 4 of females have had sexual intercourse with four or more people Only 54 4 of sexually active teenagers report the use of condoms regularly leading to yearly around 3 million adolescents becoming infected with sexually transmitted infections this count for roughly one quarter of the total sexually transmitted infections in America In 1997 half of all new HIV infections were under the age of 22 meaning one in four HIV infections occurs in people under the age of 22 Every year around 1 million teenage women become pregnant because of not using a condom misuse of a condom or breakage of a condom As adolescents become older condom use decrease between freshman year and senior year the reported use of condoms drops by 13 4 This decreases as many young women begin taking a contraceptive many in pill form other forms include IUDs vaginal rings and birth control shots many couples believe that using condoms are not as important because the risk of pregnancy has dramatically decreased
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