Journal 12

Abortion

One topic that I could write about would be the legalization of abortion. It is an enormous debate both in the United States and throughout the world. Every year there is a huge pro-life march in Washington D.C., and there are many more marches, debates, and protests throughout the year. People have a wide range of opinions over the issue. Some people are vehemently against abortion, while others support it. However, a large number of people also feel that it is acceptable only in some situations, such as in cases of rape. Abortions undoubtedly carry certain moral problems with them. Opponents of abortion point out that even in the early stages, the fetus takes the form of a human and has many significant characteristics that represent a human. They often equate it to murder. Others argue that until birth it should not be considered a human life. The issue goes far deeper than simply an argument of right or wrong or what defines a human life, however. Many people cite the radical drop in crime rates following the legalization of abortion as the reason that it should remain legal. This is a very controversial topic with plenty of opinions and resources available on the topic for me to use in writing a paper.

“The US Should not Overturn Roe vs. Wade”

“The US Should Overturn Roe vs. Wade”

Drinking Age

Another topic that I could write about for the research paper would be the drinking age. This issue is widely discussed in the United States both because of the prevalence of alcoholism and the dangerous effects of alcohol. I could argue that the drinking age should be reduced to 18. The most common argument for this idea is that people can go to war and die at the age of 18, but are not legally allowed to consume alcohol. I could also address many other significant issues such as the drinking ages in other countries and the prevalence of alcoholism in those countries compared to the United States.

“The Drinking Age Should be Lowered”

Original

Proponents for abstinence only sex-education often find their views rooted in religious beliefs and the traditional idea that sex should be saved for marriage. The most prevalent argument for abstinence-only programs is that the only one hundred percent effective way of preventing pregnancy or the spread of STDs is abstinence. Although this statement is true, it is a very unrealistic way of approaching the situation because “70 percent of U.S. teens have engaged in oral sex by the time they reach 18, and more than 45 percent have had intercourse at least once” (Abstinence Sex Education Does Not Reduce Teen Sexual Activity). It is almost impossible to make a strong argument that not educating teens about ways to engage in safe sex is a good idea considering the fact that the abstinence message is disregarded by nearly half of all teens before they reach 18 and many more as they get older. The Heritage Foundation, a very conservative organization, endorsed by Rush Limbaugh, claims that their studies show abstinence education gets teens to postpone sex (Teen Sex). Despite the fact that the delay of sexual activity is a desired outcome, the significance of this argument is almost completely negated when the majority of these teens will eventually partake in sexual activity without information that could be beneficial to them.

Revision

The most prevalent argument for abstinence-only programs is that the only one hundred percent effective way of preventing pregnancy or the spread of STDs is abstinence. Although this statement is true, it is a very unrealistic way of approaching the situation because “70 percent of U.S. teens have engaged in oral sex by the time they reach 18, and more than 45 percent have had intercourse at least once” (Abstinence Sex Education Does Not Reduce Teen Sexual Activity). These statistics make it almost impossible to make an argument that not teaching students about how protect themselves during sex is a wise decision. Another popular argument for abstinence – only education is that it gets teens to postpone their first sexual experience. The significance of this argument is almost completely negated when the majority of these teens will eventually partake in sexual activity without information that could be beneficial to them.

Journal 10

Abstinence Sex Education Does Not Reduce Teen Sexual Activity

In this article, Arthur Caplan discusses the issue of abstinence sex education versus comprehensive sex education. He discusses how large of a controversy this is by discussing the wide variety of opinions about what should be taught and the many differences in state laws about the topic. Caplan presents his reasons for believing that abstinence sex education fails to reduce teen sexual activity. He is very firm in his opinion and is very critical of this type of education. In his article he draws from numerous studies, polls, and statistics to generate support for the points that he is making. First, he presents information that shows that the majority of teens are not staying celibate until marriage and makes the argument that, therefore, we need to educate students about how they prevent teen pregnancies and the spread of disease because most teens will have sex even if they have had an abstinence sex course. He also presents studies in many states that have seen these programs fail to make any improvement in teen sexual activity. Finally, Caplan discusses the fact that many parents say that that they want their children taught abstinence sex education, but will often change their tune when the children graduate high school and in many cases did not wait until marriage themselves.

I like a lot of the points that Caplan makes in his article and I like that he was not making the point that sex before marriage is acceptable, instead he focused on his belief that it is something that is going to occur. He presents his belief that abstinence sex education fails to prepare students for this fact, and fails to even have an impact on the number of teens who will remain celibate until marriage. I think that he does present a convincing argument. His use of statistics really supported his argument. However, I did feel that he made some assertions that had only a little support. I think that in these cases he relied too much on relaying his opinion instead of presenting support for his beliefs. Overall, though, his argument was convincing and he did present good support for his points, especially when you consider that there are few ways to quantify success or failure of these types of programs except through polls.

I think that this article can be very helpful in my paper because it presents ample valuable information that I can use to support my ideas. It has reliable statistics that demonstrate the failure of many of these programs. One useful piece of information that I could cite is that “70 percent of teens have engaged in oral sex by the time they reach 18, and more than 45 percent have had intercourse at least once.” I think that this statistic is useful because it shows that teens are going to engage in sexual activity and it makes much more sense to educate them on the safest way to do that rather than attempting to prevent something that is widely going to occur anyway.

Arthur Caplan, "Abstinence-Only Sex Ed Defies Common Sense: Education Policy Spreads Ignorance, Sends Confusing Message to Teens," MSNBC.com, October 13, 2005. © 2008 MSNBC Interactive. Republished with permission of MSNBC.com, conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.