"Approximately four million teens get a sexually transmitted disease every year" (Scripps 1). Todays numbers of sexually active teens differ greatly from that of just a few years ago. Which in return, projects that not only the risk of being infected with a sexually transmitted disease (STD) has risen, but the actual numbers of those infected rise each year as well. These changes have not gone unnoticed. In fact have produced adaptations as to how society educates its young adults about sex, using special programs, various advertising, and regulating sexual education courses in public schools. One major adaptation is the advancement and availability of contraceptives. The next best step would be to combine some of these efforts by not only educating teenagers about sex and contraception, but providing them with contraceptives in public high schools. Contraception has come a long way over the years. Up until thirty years ago, US government policies kept contraceptives out of reach of the poor, the unmarried, and the young (Mauldon 2). Even information about contraception was hard to find, complements of the Comstock Act of 1873, in which they were defined as "obscene." As late as 1964 contraception was illegal in some states (2). Where condoms were legal and available, they were still kept behind the counter of pharmacies, and only sold to a select group of male customers. By the mid-70s, condoms became widely available through public health services, hospitals, and Planned Parenthood centers (Mauldon 3). Quick access to condoms is now a part of American life. Although, perhaps the access alone may not be enough for teens, but rather where the access is. High school, the main wave of social, educational, and sexual involvement for young adults, is the prime place for contraceptives to be distributed. Many students learn about sex and contraception through high school programs, so who better to give them out than the main...
