Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Senator Frank R. Lautenberg Introduce Bill to Expand Comprehensive Sex Education
Contact: Kristal DeKleer (202) 225-1882
WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) today introduced the Real Education for Healthy Youth Act, legislation that would give America’s youth the knowledge they need to make educated decisions about their health. The bill would expand comprehensive sex education programs in schools, while ensuring that federal funds are spent on effective, age-appropriate, medically accurate programs.
“Comprehensive sex education programs are successful at reducing behaviors that put young people at risk,” said Congresswoman Lee. “Research has shown programs that combine information about abstinence and contraception effectively delay the onset of sexual intercourse, reduce the number of sexual partners, and increase contraceptive use among teens. These programs also reduce unintended pregnancy and the transmission of STIs, including HIV.”
Unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continue to threaten the health and well-being of our nation’s youth. The United States still has the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the industrialized world, and recent reports have shown that teen birth rates are on the rise. In 2009, there were approximately 19 million new cases of STIs, almost half of them occurring in young people between 15 to 24 years old.
“Growing up isn’t easy and our kids find themselves in tough situations every day,” said Senator Lautenberg. “They need all the information to make smart choices and ‘abstinence-only’ programs don’t work. It’s time to bring sex education up-to-date to reflect the real life situations facing young Americans.”
The Real Education for Healthy Youth Act would help schools implement and expand age-appropriate comprehensive sex education programs that are medically accurate and evidence-based, train teachers and educators to effectively educate teenagers in order to reduce unintended pregnancy and the transmission of STIs, and expand sex education programs at colleges and universities. The bill would also prevent federal funds from being spent on ineffective, medically inaccurate sex education programs.
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