in general or unprotected sex in particular" (Mauldon 4). However, these are not just the concerns of conservatives or religious leaders, but in addition the concerns of parents of these teens. Parent appreciate having sex ed. in schools, yet are not as sure about having condoms distributed to teens at school ("What Can"). Many parents feel that their children are too young to have sex and are afraid that telling them about contraceptives will encourage them to do so (Federation). When actually the fact is, " young people become sexually active when the feel theyre ready, not necessarily when we like them to" (Federation). What many parents forget to consider is that their children face a different world sexually from the one that was presented to them in their time. Numerous diseases are out there today and "more young people are sexually active" (Mauldon 9). Whether their children become sexually active as teens or not, they will become sexually active someday. So the sooner precautions are provided to teens, the better. Studies in European nations support that condoms supplied at schools are ineffectual to the numbers of students sexually active (Mauldon 4). Research in Europe shows evidence that sexual activity among teenagers is "independent of any changes in public provision of contraceptives" (4). The real concentration of parents should be put on how these young adults evaluate options concerning sex. Alison Forbes, a 17 year old junior at Waumatosa West High School, says " when kids debate whether they should have sex, they focus on how it will affect their relationship, not on possibility of getting a STD" (Scripps 2). While that may be true and parents might agree, studies still say that as more teenagers become sexually involved, they have also become more likely to use some form of contraception (Mauldon 6). Pregnancy rates dropped 20 percent between 1970 and 1990 (1). These falling teen birth rates cannot ...
