Hey all,
In another thread, a discussion started up about teaching abstinence from sex. (As I recall, RiverRat started it in RAZD's "Legal Death, Legal Life and Abortion" topic.)
In that thread, Crashfrog stated that teaching abstinence caused the rates of teenage pregnancy and STD's to rise rather than fall. He, of course, has to back up that claim and I hope he does so in this thread.
My own opinion is that teaching abstinence is not especially useful to responsible sex education. A very knowledgeable friend of mine once said "A human being who cannot express themselves sexually will eventually commit suicide". Although that is an extreme view, I have to agree in principle; constant abstinence is entirely unhealthy. I believe that the problem of paedophilia currently faced by the Catholic Church in Ireland stems in part from the priests' vow of celibacy; i.e. that their abstinence from sex, for some at least, is simply too much to handle.
I think the notion of abstinence stems in some part from the Christian idea of sex being bad or sinful, and many of the problems in providing responsible sex education derive from how deeply this idea is ingrained in Western society.
So, the topic: why abstinence is good/bad, its origins and its consequences. Should it be taught, even in conjunction with other types of sex education?
(In particular I'd like holmes to join in this topic, if possible. His input would be very valuable.)
I'll leave this for one of the other admins to promote. I have to log off and go to work.
The Rockhound
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