I know I keep harping on this, but I’m not getting ANY answers as to why pro-lifers aren’t pushing contraception access and education in order to prevent abortions. Look at Switzerland - their abortion rate is less than half of the U.S. rate. What is really going on, why would pro-lifers not be aggressively pushing for measures pretty much guaranteed to reduce abortions?
I am fine with contraception being taught. But I also think it is best to include all information, including the advantages of delaying sexual activity. And more young people delay sexual activity than did previously, and more do than many think.
If young people are going to have sex it is certainly best they know how to use contraception. However, the impression given that all young people are having sex is not accurate. And the CDC notes that the rate of students indicating sexual activity is going down, at 39.5 percent in 2017, nationwide having sex at some point through high school. Even accounting for under-reporting, that means the majority are not having sex, and the numbers of those who are is going down.
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/pdf/2017/ss6708.pdf
Of those who are having sex at an early age those in hispanic and especially black populations have a higher rate.
And of those actively having sex 13.8 percent were not using any contraceptive. And again those rates were higher among hispanic and especially black students (though this was also improving, and more rapidly than some other rates).
They also found links to sexual activity and drug or alcohol use.
Earlier sexual activity is often found to be associated with fatherlessness in particular, and weak parental bonds in general, especially among women. There are various theories as to why, and a number of studies done.
Absent fathers and sexual strategies | The Psychologist
Fatherlessness also relates to higher poverty, higher drug use, poor mental health, higher depression etc.
There is even a link to women being less likely to use a condom when there is abandonment, etc. by the father. The article above reviews some of the literature and findings, and discusses whether this is a mating strategy issue (others have even suggested epigenetic issue).
There are higher rates of poverty and fatherlessness among the African Amercian community in particular.
You can find census data on households here, and blacks have far more households with only the mother and no other person leading the household:
America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2017
My point being that if we are going to give children all the facts we need to acknowledge that there is more to it than just saying have sex and use a condom. They would be better off not having sex. Some groups, particularly those in poverty or homes that have involved abuse, neglect, abandonment, etc. are at greater risk of early sexual activity and other risky behavior.
This is an area where the pro-life argument does need to go beyond just abortion. These outcomes indicate that we need to find ways to address these cultural and economic risk factors along with just education on options for birth control.
By the way, as of 2010 the US has a higher rate than many countries of single parent households, and higher than Switzerland for instance.
Single Parents, Around the World
Fatherlessness, poverty, drug use, etc. are just a few of the factors. Others such as sexual abuse tend to increase promiscuity and harm later success in relationships. The educational system should try to find ways to discover what factors drive the risk of particular young people engaging in early risky sexual behaviors.
Young people also deserve to know that those who delay sexual onset often wind up making more money, receiving more education, and having fewer problems in marriage, per some data:
Can Your Sexual Debut Predict Your Future?