State Senator Pam Galloway Pushes Abstinence Bill

A new bill introduced by state Sens. Pam Galloway and Mary Lazich would roll back the Healthy Youth Act, a comprehensive sex education initiative passed last year to help reduce rates of STDs and pregnancy among young people.

Under the proposed legislation, Wisconsin school districts offering sexual health courses would no longer be required to teach about birth control. Instead, districts could choose to adopt an abstinence-only or a comprehensive curriculum, provided abstinence is taught as the preferred choice for unmarried students; instruction is given on parental responsibility and the socioeconomic benefits of marriage; and pregnancy, prenatal development, and childbirth are explained.

School districts would no longer be required to notify parents if human development instruction is not offered, and volunteer health care providers would not be permitted to teach these courses.

Galloway said the new bill is intended to return curriculum control to local school boards. “The Healthy Youth Act was a one-size-fits-all approach,” she said.

At a packed committee hearing on Oct. 19, critics of the measure said it will increase pregnancy and STD rates among teens.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

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