How many girls have you seen in school who are pregnant? Do you ever think that they might not have had "sex discussions" with their parents or any kind of sex education in school? “The United States still has the highest rate of teen pregnancy among all industrialized countries. About 40% of American women become pregnant before the age of 20. The result is approximately 1 million pregnancies each year among women aged 15 to 19.” (Annie E. Casey Foundation) By age 15-20, most adolescents, male and female, do not have a stable job and are still in school. There is a lot of risk when a male and a female decide to have sexual intercourse. Having a sex education class would help reduce the rate of teenage pregnancies. Learning what can be done to prevent teen pregnancy and the consequences that can lead to it will help reduce the amount of sexual activity among teens. Having a mandatory sex education class will benefit the next teenagers of the next generation. Some parents don't want their teenagers to have premarital sex, and some parents don't want schools to teach their children sex education because they feel it's their job. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the teaching of sex education in schools. Not much sex education is taught in school and this affects the outcome of our generation. A sex education course does not mean that students must commit to abstention because in reality most students will not remain abstinent and will be or are currently sexually active. "If we consider the increased risk of missing contraception versus the benefit of delay, it turns out that when it comes to pregnancy, up-and-comers run the same risk as non-up-and-comers. There is no long-term benefit... at the heart of the 'article ... contained in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of Advocates for Youth.Bearman P. [Letter New York: Columbia University, 2002. Virginity pledgeCommunication: A Series of National Surveys of adolescents on sex Menlo Park, CA: Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2002.Hauser D. Five years of abstinence-only education until marriage: Impact evaluation [Title V State Evaluations] Washington, DC: Advocates for Youth, 2004Kirby D. Emerging Answers: Research Findings on Programs to Reduce Teen Pregnancy Washington, DC: National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2001 Annie E. Casey Foundation "The Facts of Teen Pregnancy: An Overview." Teens and Sex Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Contemporary from “When Teens Have Sex: Issues and Trends: A Special Report on Children.” 1999. Opposing Viewpoints in Web Context, 15 October. 2013