The Moral Justification for School-Based Condom Availability Programs

Abstract

In the field of health education the pursuit of healthy lifestyles often links scientific interests about reducing mortality and morbidity with philosophical interests about promoting morality. This article discusses such a symbiotic relationship contained within school-based condom availability programs in which health educators are confronted with the union of health and moral concerns. A major contention of this article is that health educators are obligated to address and resolve these ethical issues, such as whether a health educator's responsibility to promote health and prevent disease should morally obligate health educators to implement condom availability programs for teenagers. This article conducts a philosophical inquiry into the ethical issues involved in a school-based condom availability program. A principle-based approach to moral reasoning is used and argues that the ethical principles of autonomy, justice, beneficence, and nonmaleficence justify the existence of school-based condom availability programs. This article also argues that these principles should form the fundamental ethical foundation for health education programs. Finally, an additional purpose of this article is to address the need to increase the presence of moral deliberations and models in the health education professional literature.