Let's talk about sex: Students need better sex education

North Carolina's youth need protection.

The N.C. General Assembly needs to pass a bill that would allow school systems to provide a more comprehensive sex education course as alternative to current abstinence-only programs.

If passed the bill would address pressing problems facing North Carolina's youth such as teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

North Carolina ranks among the top 10 states in reported cases of syphilis chlamydia gonorrhea" HIV infection and in estimated number of AIDS cases. Teens account for a large portion of these infections.

North Carolina also maintains the ninth highest teen pregnancy rate and the fourteenth highest teen birth rate in the nation. These statistics indicate that North Carolina's current law mandating an ""abstinence until marriage"" curriculum is ineffective and in need of reform.

Education is the best way to change teens' risky sexual behaviors. Pretending sex doesn't happen is naive and outdated.

It's true that abstinence is the best way to prevent unwanted pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted infections.

But teaching abstinence-only ignores much of the issue.

Teens will continue to have sex" regardless of what they are taught. We should teach them about the consequences of their actions and the safe way to be sexually active.

To ignore these important teachings is dogmatic and dangerous.

Ignoring the issue is passively agreeing especially for a curious teen.

Comprehensive sex education curricula work.

The North Carolina Healthful Living Standard Course of Study established that such curricula are effective at lowering pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections rates among teens when taught in grades 7 through 9.

If passed this bill would require school districts to offer two separate sex education classes with different curricula: one abstinence-only and one comprehensive.

This way the school does not decide anything for parents. It merely offers a choice to those interested.

Those who object to the comprehensive curriculum could simply choose not to enroll their children in it.

By keeping parents involved in the decision the lessons learned at school are reinforced at home. This makes the lessons much more likely to stick.

And when the message sticks the public as a whole reaps the benefits. There are less health care costs and lower probabilities of contracting a sexually transmitted infection. More teenage women might remain in school and fewer children might be born into the vicious cycle of poverty and teenage pregnancy.

Let the parents choose so the next generation can learn to protect themselves.