The House Education Committee approved a bill Thursday that would require schools offering sex education to include science-based material about contraception and disease prevention in the curriculum. Rep. Nancy Todd, D-Aurora, says she introduced the House Bill 1292 to counteract the flood of sexually-charged messages in the media.
Addressing that issue, a recent Newsweek cover story discussed how a sex-saturated culture affects young girls. The authors asked the tough question, “Are we raising a generation of ‘prosti-tots’?” Their conclusion, though, indicated the situation isn’t so dire:
Statistical evidence indicates that our girls are actually doing pretty well, in spite of Paris Hilton and those like her: teen pregnancy, drinking and drug use are all down, and there is no evidence that girls are having intercourse at a younger age. And in many ways it’s a great time to be a girl: women are excelling in sports, academics and the job market.
That reassuring news, however, doesn’t mean sex ed in schools shouldn’t be more informative and fact-based.
Some groups objected to the bill on the basis that parents should be the primary sources for their children regarding sex. Perhaps anticipating that critique, Todd has also introduced House Bill 1300, which would require schools to notify parents of their right to excuse their children from sex ed classes.
HB 1292 will now head to the House floor.
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