Benefits of Condom Distribution in Schools
             With an extremely high percentage of sexually active teens, the United States holds the title of the highest rate of sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, and abortion among teens in North America and Europe. Concerned parents, educators, and healthcare workers cannot decide what to do about this alarming problem, caused by unprotected sexual intercourse. Condom distribution in high schools represents an effective way to protect sexually active teenagers from unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Availability of condoms in high schools does not increase rates of teenage sexual activity, but rather increases condom use among already sexually active teenagers.
             Among American teenagers, condom unavailability ranks as the number one obstacle for safe sex ("Briefing" 5). A survey conducted by the Center for Population Options Teen Council examined the accessibility of contraception in drugstores and convenience stores in Washington, D.C. and found that: "One-third of the stores kept condoms behind the counter, forcing teens to ask for them. Only thirteen percent of the stores had signs that clearly marked where contraceptives were shelved. Adolescent girls asking for assistance encountered resistance or condemnation from store clerks forty percent of the time" (Francoeur 97). For teens, these barriers are significant obstacles to contraceptive access. Condom availability programs within schools eases access and communicates the important message that society prefers protection to disease, teenage pregnancy, and death ("Briefing" 5).
             School-based condom availability programs do not increase rates of teenage sexual activity, as many opponents of high school condom distribution argue, but do have a significant effect on condom use (Raab 49). M. Raab's article in Family Planning Perspectives argues that making condoms available...