Christian Colleges: Condom Distribution Needed for Safety, Not Morality - Essay Sample

Introduction

What comes to mind when you think about the distribution of condoms in Christian college campuses? While opponents think that morality is at risk when dispensing condoms at Christian colleges, proponents claim that making them available to students is just a matter of safety. There is a need to dispense condoms regardless of the belief system followed by colleges because they help reduce the spread of STDs, aid in preventing pregnancies, and make college students more sexually responsible. Young adults should lead sexually healthy lives yet still make their own choices on what they want; hence, the need to distribute condoms in schools.

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Each year, almost every country reports cases of sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, and sexual irresponsibility. Multiple cases of abortion are reported, while many go unreported. This is the result of the unavailability of safe sex resources for young adults. It is difficult to meet a perfect world characterized by sexual purity, where one would abstain from sex until marriage. Therefore, even though morality forms the foundation for Christian college campuses, condoms should still be distributed to enhance the sexual safety of students.

The effectiveness of contraceptives such as condoms as reflected on abortion rates in the US (Crockett, 2017).

Condoms have been proven to reduce the chances of spreading STDs. Research by Stephens et al. (2015) concluded that the generation of condoms is the easiest yet most effective method of preventing one against sexually transmitted infections. Young adults are the most sexually active. The heightened sexual activity, even in Christian college campuses, can only be addressed by providing the students with resources, including condoms, to prevent them from spreading or contracting unwanted diseases. According to Mosley (2018), Christians are not an exception to contraceptives as everyone is vulnerable regardless of their beliefs.

Image showing how college students overshare STDs (Elaridi, 2012).

Dispensing condoms in Christian college campuses also aids in preventing unwanted pregnancies. A study performed by Alvarez-Bruned et al. (2016) noted the importance of using condoms to reduce the increased rates of pregnancies in the world. While Christians advocate for abstinence, teachers are not naive. While it is difficult to meet an ideal world characterized by sexual purity, abstinence is neither realistic. Fitzgerald (2016) connoted the knowhow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Committee on Adolescence as well as its intentions of always advocating the access to condoms to aid in preventing unwanted pregnancies.

The availability of condoms in Christian college campuses could also make students more sexually responsible. It is at college life that most young adults start discovering their sexual identities. According to Raikar (2015), morality has always been advocated, but safe sex should be the norm as it would be difficult to change students' perception of sex most of the time. While the blame would be on student practice of sex in case of negative outcomes, schools, and higher affiliations should be enhancing their responsibility by offering necessary resources. The introduction of the use of condoms at a formative age could assist the teens in viewing contraceptives as the second nature contrary to abstinence that would always spur negotiations within themselves.

Condoms are the most effective contraceptives in reducing instances of STIs, unwanted pregnancies and also make Christians at college campuses more sexually responsible. It is the responsibility of parents, teachers, and other higher organizations such as AAP to advocate for the use of condoms at a formative age to help mitigate the challenges of unsafe sex. Dispensing condoms should be a practice to be done throughout college campuses regardless of the existing religious values.

References

Alvarez-Bruned, L., Garcia-Continente, X., Gotsens, M., Perez, A., & Perez, G. (2015). Trends in inequalities in the use of a condom by urban teenagers in Spain. Journal of Urban Health, 92(6), 1065-1080. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-015-9985-9

Crockett, E. (2017). The abortion rate is at an all-time low - and better birth control is largely to thank. Vox. https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/1/18/14296532/abortion-rate-lowest-ever-because-birth-control

Elaridi, F. (2012). College students overshare STDs. Campus Times. https://lvcampustimes.org/2012/03/college-students-overshare-stds/

Fitzgerald, J. E. (2016). Long-acting contraceptives for adolescents. The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, 16(1), 63-81. https://doi.org/10.5840/ncbq20161618

Mosley, W. H. (2018). Why are evangelical Christians supporting international family planning? Christian Journal for Global Health, 5(1), 4. https://doi.org/10.15566/cjgh.v5i1.205

Raikar, V., Potdar, P., & Potdar, A. (2015). Knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding emergency contraceptives among married women of the urban slum area. International Journal of Reproduction, Contraception, Obstetrics and Gynecology, 1008-1011. https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20150416

Stephens, T. T., Gardner, D., Jones, K., Sifunda, S., Braithwaite, R., & Smith, S. E. (2015). Correlates of Mandrax use and condom beliefs in preventing sexually transmitted infections among a cohort of South African prison inmates. International Health, 8(2), 142-147. https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihv048