Despite research indicating that comprehensive sexuality education is more effective than abstinence-only education at reducing unplanned pregnancies and STIs, Americans remain sharply divided on how to best educate their kids about sex. On the one side are those who believe that the more information their child has, the better prepared they are to make decisions about their sexual health in the future. On the other side are those who believe that the best way to prevent unplanned pregnancies and the spread of STIs is to promote abstinence, full stop. Supporters of abstinence-only curricula believe that to give kids too much information about sex itself — and how to have it safely — is tantamount to giving them permission to do so. But when adolescents face relational and sexual decision-making they’re unprepared for, there are often negative consequences. 60 mins.
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