The Adolescent Family Life Act ( Afla ) Essay - 2098 Words

In 1981, the Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA) was signed into law by President Reagan. Through the act, the federal government first invested in sexual education programs, all of which encouraged â€Å"chastity and self-discipline.† After this came the Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage program, which was created in 1996 as part of the welfare reform legislation. Finally, the Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE), was created in 2000. Now, for over three decades, people are still debating whether the original approach of teaching abstinence should be kept or if schools should go into further detail in teaching how to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and infections. I believe that all schools should teach an inclusive form of sexual education. I believe that teaching abstinence is not working in the slightest because the rate of teenagers who are sexually active is gradually increasing. Since the fact is that teens are participating in sexual intercourse, we need to teach them how to have sex safely. Schools need to teach a form of sexual education that will fully cover how to prevent teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and infections, because the abstinence-only-until-marriage programs contain inaccuracies and flaws, the popular opinion differs from state policies, and the government and tax payer’s money could be better allocated to a different cause. Ultimately teaching proper sexual education will help to lower the teenage pregnancyShow MoreRelatedA Brief Analysis Of Sex Education1134 Words   |  5 PagesDarroch, Susheela Singh, and Jenny Higgins, â€Å"men and women in the United States typically begin having sexual i ntercourse during adolescence at a mean age of 16.9 years for men and 17.4 for women† (Landry, Darroch, Singh, Higgins, 2003). Because adolescents are participating in sexual activities at such an early age, sexual education is needed now more than ever to help students â€Å"make healthy and responsible decisions about whether to have intercourse and how to protect themselves and their partnersRead MoreComprehensive Ignorance1553 Words   |  7 Pagescomprehensive sexual education into the classroom as a mandatory requirement. In 1981, Congress passed the Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA). Commonly referred to as the â€Å"Chastity Act,† AFLA was designed to â€Å"promote self discipline and other prudent approaches to the problem of adolescent premarital sexual relations, including adolescent pregnancy† as well as â€Å"to promote adoption as an alternative for adolescent parents† (Library of Congress 1998). This law represented the first time the f ederal governmentRead MoreSex Education And Sexual Education Essay1326 Words   |  6 Pagestaught in schools for nearly thirty-five years; since then the abstinence-only programs have existed as well. Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA) is known for being the originator of today’s abstinence-only-until-marriage programs which goals were to avoid prenuptial teenage pregnancy through self-restraint, encourage adoption among pregnant teenagers, and to look after parenting teens. AFLA assisted in the development of curricula that were intended to control teenagers’ sexual activity by inculcatingRead MoreEssay about Abstinence-Only Based Curricula in Public Schools 2171 Words   |  9 PagesThe foundation of the abstinence-only policy was laid in 1981 under President Regan when the United States Congress passed the Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA) administered by the Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs (OAPP) (Denny, 2006). The main purpose of this this proposal was to keep sexual relationships until marriage (Weaver, 2005). The AFLA became founded on the belief of funding and developing abstinence-only based curricula in public schools throughout the United States (Weaver, 2005)Read MoreSex Education Programs Vs. Abstinence Essay1647 Words   |  7 Pages Today’s youth faces very tough issues in their everyday life. Kids are growing up too fast too soon. They are facing situations and making decisions that will affect them for the rest of their lives. Among one of the most pressing issues they have to deal with is the risk of dangerous sexual behaviors and early pregnancies. Sex education programs in schools are clashing over comprehensive-sex education programs versus abstinence-only education programs. Abstinence-only programs not only instillRead MoreAbstinence Only Sexual Education Vs. Inclusive Sex Education Essay2399 Words   |  10 PagesAbstinence-Only Sexual Education vs. Inclusive Sexual Education In 1981, the Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA) was signed into law by President Reagan. Through the act, the federal government first invested in sexual education programs, all of which encouraged â€Å"chastity and self-discipline.† After this came the Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage program, which was created in 1996 as part of the welfare reform legislation. Finally, the Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE), was created inRead MoreAbstinence Only : Harmful And Against The First Amendment1803 Words   |  8 Pagesthe United States government never had much involvement in the teaching of sexual education (LeClair 293) Abstinence-only program funding in the United States started in 1981 when the Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA) was passed to promote abstinence to teenage mothers (294). In the opinion of politicians, the act was too weak for their needs, so they later established two other, more repressive programs (296). The last of the three – the Speci al Projects of Regional and National Significance (SPRANS)Read MoreCensorship is Not an Effective Way to Protect Children Essay1901 Words   |  8 Pagescensorship does not only include pornography or excess violence on television, classrooms and libraries all across America can feel its presence. (Taylor) According to the National Coalition against Censorship website Congress passed the Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA) in 1981, which provided funds to charitable and religious organizations to teach â€Å"chastity education† to young adults. By 1996, it had â€Å"gained so much support from government and public institutions† that congress established a federally