English Four Tuesday, January 7,1997 CONDOM DISTRIBUTION IN SCHOOLS CONDONES PROMISCUITY AND INCREASES TEEN PREGNANCIES A majority

of high schools in the United States do not distribute condoms to stu dents. Those few schools that do provide condoms state their reason that in doing so, t hey will safely decrease the number of teen pregnancies and cases of sexually transmitted diseas es. But if students are exposed to condom distribution, they will get the idea that premari tal sex is okay, and will do it without consideration. Statistics showing the condom failure rat e turn the belief of reducing teen pregnancies around. Distributing condoms in schools condones prom iscuity and increases teen pregnancies. Condoms were invented to provide a barrier for protection against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Since then, other forms of birth control have be en introduced and proven more reliable than condoms. Depo-Provera, "The Pill", and Norplant are s uch methods. Every day, sex education classes promote condoms as means of safe sex or a least safer sex. But research on condoms provides no such guarantee. Texas researcher Susan Weller r eports that condoms are only 87 percent effective in preventing pregnancy. Condoms do appea r to be effective in preventing pregnancy when used "correctly and consistently". Most individuals, however, do not use them "correctly and consistently". In a municipal hospital family planning clinic, 36 percent of 106 people experienced condom breakage, and five percent o f the women's unplanned pregnancies were attributed to broken condoms. A high school student cannot afford the risk of becoming pregnant. The Catholic Church states that sex exists for means of expressing love between two people and creation only, and frowns upon premarital sex or sexual intercourse w ithout using a contraceptives. Catholic values state that abstinence should be practived and i s the safest method of birth control there is. Sexual promiscuity should not be taken as lightly as it is. Movies, songs, and television give messages that sexual promiscuity is "cool and attractive". If condoms are distributed in school, students would be living the life of a soap opera star. They see it as a way to be cool and protected at the same time. First, reputations and feelings are at risk, and se cond, students are risking teen pregnancy.

Today's teenagers face many pressures in their life including school, parents, f riends and attitude. Society has been sending mixed messages to teens on sex. Parents tel l their children to wait, while the media says "Go ahead and do it". If parents and sex educators t each students that they should wait, providing condoms in schools will pressure teens into sex earl ier, increasing the number of sexually active students. Sexual promiscuity should not be taken as lightly as it is. Movies, songs, and television give messages that sexual promiscuity is "cool and attractive". If condoms are distributed in school, students would be living the life of a soap opera star. They see it as a way to be cool and protected at the same time. First, reputations and feelings are at risk, and se cond, students are risking teen pregnancy. Surprisingly, many schools throughout the United States adopt abstinence-only pr ograms. The enthusiasm for these programs is well evident. Although the message of abst inence is criticized by some as inadequate, there are good reasons for promotion of abstin ence. Teenagers want to learn about abstinence; not "everyone's doing it". In 1992, Center for Disease Control found that 43 percent of teenagers ages 14 to 17 had engaged in sexual intercour se at least once. This is less than half, which means that a majority of teens are not doing it. Abstinence prevents pregnancy. For example, the San Marcos Junior High in San Marcos, California, a dopted an abstinence-only program developed by Teen-Aid. The curriculum dropped the schoo l's pregnancy rate from 147 to 20 within a two-year period. America faces a long road ahead of them in fighting disease and poverty. The ba ttle may never be won, but our children, the future leaders of the United States, need to be set on the right path before we can begin our road to victory.