Arguementative Essay (Condoms in School)

In this essay I will discuss the pros and cons of providing condoms at a public high school. While many adults and possibly some students feel that this will promote a bad idea and give kids more reason to have sex, we really need to think realisically about this issue. As much as people want to believe that if we don't have condoms available to us then sex will not happen, that is just not the case. Just like in the new movie called "The Pregnancy Pact," based on a true story about a group of 18 young high school girls (age about 15) who choose to get pregnant together, we find that without condoms kids are still just as likely. Throughout the movie, there is an ongoing debate between the school and various parents/adults in the town who fight for whether or not condoms and birth control should be available to students at school while the school offers daycare. Then, we soon find that one of those 18 girls is the daughter to a mother who VERY strongly feels no condoms available=no sex, which we find to obviously not be the case.
From living up in this little town of Tellurde, and being so involved in the AIDS Benefit I have learned more than I probably need to know about being safe and condom use is one of them. High school is the time when students really start becoming involved with dating, etc. and are the most willing to try new things. Seriously, tell me about one high school student who has never even thought about having sex. Also, while kids of this age are still underage to drink, many do and that sometimes leads to decisions they may have not made otherwise. If students are able to simply get a condom from their school, they are much more likely to be prepared in a situation like this. For students of high school age, it is embarassing to go into a store and buy a condom. While many say "if you are not mature enough to buy a condom, you are not ready for sex," the thing is many don't care if they are "ready" or not or they may just find it plain embarrasing. Just because they feel unsure about buying a condom, doesn't nessecarily mean they cannot handle themselves. Sex is a choice that kids at this age are going to make with or without condoms so why not have them available?
For those people who are against my case, sit down and really think about it. What bad will it do to have protection there for those who need it. By this I am not saying EVERY teenager is or will have sex before the end of high school, but what I am saying is that it is inevitable that some will engage in sex, so why not make them prepared? Some people argue that it will promote sex but what is their backing for that? From talking to high school students from being a peer educator, I am very aware that this is not the case. Those who don't want to have sex won't, and those who get pressured into it because "they have a condom" most likely would have been pressured into it either way with their partner saying something like "I promise it will be fine." The thing is that no it may not be fine. With the ignorance of safety that some schools promote to their students in order to "shelter" them from reality does the students no good. It teaches kids to be scared of something that is completely natural and without the knowledge it will NOT lead to abstinence but it will lead to uneducated choices. If students choose to take a condom in a school setting, that is their choice. By offering condoms at school, the district is not changing how they view life and decision making in any way, all they are doing is putting the safe option out there. They are not shoving protection in anyones face, they are not requiring anyone to take a condom. All they are doing is providing another option just like how it would be to provide pencils to students. If the student wants to use what is provided, they can CHOOSE to. Nothing is required. There is no harm in a choice.