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The most important preventative step, in regards to sexual behavior that may affect one's health, needs to begin on a comprehensive level. Without being educated on the risks of sexual intercourse and ways to prevent harm, the youth of America will be oblivious and thus, more likely to make poor decisions. However, with comprehensive sex education, it has been shown that young people tend to make healthier decisions regarding sex; this evidence is contrary to abstinence-only-until-marriage education, which does not show a significant decrease in risky sexual behavior. As a result, young people who receive comprehensive sex education tend to delay the initiation of sex and reduce the frequency of sex, new partners, and unprotected sex, all of which are shown to reduce STDs and teen pregnancy rates. Despite the support of comprehensive sex education by multiple medical organizations, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, comprehensive sex education program are non-existent, that receives federal funding, which likely contributes to the lack of this type of education in the United States. Although comprehensive sex education was once viewed as "taboo ", most American adults today support sex education including abstinence, contraception, and prevention of STDs and pregnancy (McKeon, 2006). .
Granted that sex education is widely accepted with American adults, there still remains a minority that believe that sex education should be left up to the parent so that they will have control over what needs to be taught. Those against sex education in public schools believe that this type of education may "interfere with values and morals within the household "; since parents are responsible for instilling these values within their children, they should also be held accountable for teaching their children about the potential consequences of sex (George and Moschella, 2011).
