Comprehensive sex education should be taught in public schools. Today's youth cannot make informed decisions about sex if they are not properly educated. Not educating America's youth in all aspects of sex education is comparable to allowing them to drive without being taught. Choosing not to allow comprehensive sex education in schools is dangerous and can have lifelong consequences. These consequences will not only affect the individual, but can ultimately affect America. It is vital that Americans begin to give their young people the education they need. Pre-teens and teenagers have sexual intercourse or participate in other sexual acts. According to the Center of Disease Control, 46% of students had sexual intercourse in 2009 (Center for Disease Control, 2010). That's nearly half of American high school students. Nationally, 5.9% of students have had sexual intercourse before the age of thirteen (Center for Disease Control, 2010). Among the students interviewed, 34.2% admitted that they do not use any type of protection to prevent sexually transmitted infections or pregnancy (Students Againist Destructive Decisions, 2010). It is important to remember that these teenagers are having sex with little or no formal education on the subject of sex. Because these students do not take precautions, they suffer the consequences. In 2006, the Center for Disease Control estimated that 5,259 Americans between the ages of 13 and 24 contracted HIV (Students Againist Destructive Decisions, 2010). The teen birth rate in 2009 was 39.1 per 1000 births. These teenagers ranged in age from fifteen to nineteen. (Center for Disease Control, 2010). This information does not show the number of births to girls younger than... half of the document......nter for Disease Control. (2010, June 4). Weekly morbidity and mortality report. Retrieved July 30, 2011, from www.cdc.gov: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/ss/ss5905.pdfDonovan, P. (1998, July/August). School sexuality education: problems and challenges. Family Planning Perspectives Vol. 30 no. 4. 189-193. SIRS Researcher.Landry, D. (2003). Factors associated with the content of sexuality education in U.S. public secondary schools. Retrieved June 15, 2011, from the Guttmacher Institute: http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/psrh/full/3526103.pdfStudents Againist Destructive Decisions. (2010). Statistics. Retrieved July 30, 2011, from Students Againist Degressive Decisions: http://www.sadd.org/stats.htmRichardson, J. (1995, May 14) Talking about Sex Education: New Generation of Parents Still Tongue Tied About Sex. Maine Telegraph (Portland, ME) 1C+ Sirs Researcher