Always with the wedge issues!
"The Legislature is on the verge of passing a bill that would require school districts with human growth and development classes to teach sexual abstinence until marriage as the preferred behavior. The bill (SB 286) touched off a firestorm at a public hearing Tuesday, where abstinence was called the only "100% effective method" of avoiding pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. Opponents said the move would ignore the fact that many teens already engage in sexual activity."
"The bill's sponsor, Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin), said Wisconsin teens don't get the abstinence message in classrooms enough, because of a focus on using condoms and birth control instead. "Abstinence isn't taught out there, or isn't emphasized," Lazich told the Assembly Education Committee." [JSOnline]
Oh heaven forbid that we teach something like SAFETY to our kids in school. Something like 60% or more kids are sexually active by age 18. I agree, abstinence should be taught, but you can't simply forget about condoms, birth control, and preventing STD's. Just another attempt by a conservative Republican to push the conservative christian religious agenda onto the rest of us.
A second bill (AB 690), is being offered up by Rep. Tamara Grigsby (D-Milwaukee). Let's hope that common sense prevails.
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If abstinence is the focus of teaching to teens in schools, then the teen pregnancy and STD rates WILL go higher. Teens are going to do sexual activity whether they are taught abstinence or safe methods and because of that, they NEED to be taught ways to protect themselves. I work with teens everyday and I know they want to know ways to protect themselves. They are a lot smarter than people give them credit for and they always find ways around any problem. Abstinence is not the only way to teach kids about sexuality.
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