The Pregnancy And Sexual Transmitted Disease ( Std ) Rates...

We all want to see pregnancy and sexual transmitted disease (STD) rates among adolescent become nonexistent. But each year twelve million unfortunate adolescent contract in STD and more than one million teenage girls become pregnant (IDPH). Therefore, the government pushes abstinence-only programs on adolescent in hopes that this would be the solution to this difficult problem. Unfortunately, these programs do very little to stop the increasing rates, but now have only pushed teens to continue in their sexual behaviors, along with denying them the tools to properly protect themselves. Even though research has disproven that abstinence-only programs work, comprehensive programs are still not being used in school. This is because there is an†¦show more content†¦Even though these two STDs are treatable with antibiotics, for the majority of people who contract these infections do not experience any symptoms and it can go without treatment for many years. If left untreated chlam ydia and gonorrhea can leave the person with devastating consequences like Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, infertility, and other health problems. HIV is another epidemic among adolescents, so much so that young people ages 13 to 24 make up the 1 out of every 4 new HIV infections each year (CDC). Young adults diagnosed with this infectious disease are forced to carry it with them the rest of their lives because as of now it is incurable. HIV is a serious disease that if not treated properly can cause the person to become extremely ill and can even cause death. Herpes is not far behind HIV, with one in every five adolescent and adults become infected and two-thirds of that number are young adults under the age of 25 (Teen Help). This STD is also incurable and secretly lives in the body, leaving the person to only guess when an outbreak will happen. Because â€Å"many adolescents underestimate their infection risk and they have mistaken ideas about what protect them from STDs and what d oes not,† (Brà ¼ckner 277) many do not take the proper precautions necessary to protect themselves. This leaves â€Å"[o]ne third of all sexually active young people [to] become infected with an STD by age