An additional belief about the distribution of condoms regards the fact that it has no guarantees that it will be effective to increase condom usage and decline teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. According to a pamphlet entitled "Condoms and Sexually Transmitted Diseases Especially AIDS", "Condoms are not one-hundred percent safe" (qtd. In Noble 1). We are using a device that is not one hundred percent safe against a disease that proves to be one hundred percent fatal. Abstinence provides to be the only sure way to prevent teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, but in a culture in which having sex does not seem like that big of a deal, something has to be done.
It is natural for some teens to engage in sexual intercourse, whether they use a condom or not. "People are going to have sex, and they should have protected sex. They should have the chance to prevent herpes, AIDS and stuff", says Brett Adam Abel, a 15-year-old who took part in a recent survey on this topic (qtd. Goodstein Connelly 1). Six out of every ten teenagers feel this same way (1). It proves to be hard to refrain from sexual activity, especially in a society that seems to promote sex. Many teenagers are too embarrassed to go to a pharmacy and buy condoms, so they do not use them at all. With the distribution programs, students do not have to be uncomfortable because the contraceptives are always available to them. Statistics have shown that the distribution of condoms in schools does not increase sexual activity, yet it increased sexual safety (Maugh 1). The percentage of males using condoms every time they engaged in intercourse rose from 37 percent to 50 percent (1). Approximately half of all teenagers have had sexual intercourse by graduation day (Biggerstaff 1). We must ask ourselves if all these high school students insisted on protection before participation. The answer would assuredly be a resounding no.
