Since the youths of today are destined to be the leaders and voters of tomorrow and are also one of the sectors of society most affected by deficient sex education, I believe it is of utmost importance that we take a more active role in fighting for better comprehensive sex education and for easing access to health care.

Olac works with Advocates for Youth and the Texas Freedom Network as a member of the Texas Youth Leadership Council.

During the multiple years that I lived in Mexico, I was exposed to the effects of deficient sex education programs and/or the lack of such programs. Teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases were only exacerbated by deficient health care systems that neglected these issues, causing them to grow out of hand and cripple entire sectors of the population. Once I immigrated to the United States and enrolled in the University of Texas at El Paso, I noticed that Mexicans, as well as other groups of Latin American origin, were still haunted by these very same issues. I observed that sexual health was not only an issue of the developing world, but an issue that should concern everyone, regardless of nationality, social-economic class or age.

I wish, not only for my generation but for future generations as well, that the political discourse behind sex education move away from faith-based arguments and instead be driven by the reality of the problem and evidence that documents the effects of the these policies on the population as a whole.

Since the youths of today are destined to be the leaders and voters of tomorrow and are also one of the sectors of society most affected by deficient sex education, I believe it is of utmost importance that we take a more active role in fighting for better comprehensive sex education and for easing access to health care.