Abstinence-Only Sex Education Bill In Utah Prohibits Teaching Contraception

A bill requiring sex education classes to teach an abstinence-only curriculum moved closer to becoming a law in Utah Wednesday.

The state House passed HB 363 in a 45-28 vote following extensive debate. The bill -- which now goes on to the state Senate -- would lift the current requirement that all public schools must teach sex ed in grades 8 through 12. If the bill passes, districts would decide whether to offer sex ed classes that teach an abstinence-only curriculum, or not offer the course at all. Republican state Rep. Bill Wright sponsored the proposal.

"We've been culturally watered down to think we have to teach about sex, about having sex and how to get away with it, which is intellectually dishonest," Wright said, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. "Why don't we just be honest with them upfront that sex outside marriage is devastating?"

The version of the bill that passed through the state House Wednesday would prohibit any instruction in contraception, though teachers would be allowed to answer student questions about safe sex.

That provision is a departure from current law, which prohibits the advocacy of contraception and sexual activity outside of marriage. It also tightens the already-conservative regulations that sex ed curricula emphasize abstinence before marriage and fidelity after marriage and "personal skills that encourage individual choice of abstinence and fidelity."

An abstinence-only sex education course, Wright said, would include lessons on friendship, dating and love. It could include lessons on the consequences of sex outside of marriage and a chapter on how to say no to sex. The lawmaker believes that poverty rates would drop if abstinence became a more common practice, the Daily Herald reports.

Critics of the bill like Democratic state Rep. Carol Spackman said abstinence can't be taught without discussions of contraceptive failures, protecting yourself from sexually transmitted diseases. She adds that not teaching the consequences of sex among young people is "really immoral," The Salt Lake Tribune reports.

Republican state Rep. Francis Gibson said that in the school district he represents, the abstinence-only curriculum is not proving effective. Teens are becoming parents of unplanned children, and religious leaders have also pointed out to him that the current formula for sex education needs revision, according to the Daily Herald.

"I would hope as we make this decision, that we won't think if we say abstinence only, that fairy dust will have been sprinkled and that teen pregnancy will no longer be a problem," Gibson said.

The Utah bill is one of a handful of proposals or regulations for American classrooms. A piece of legislation that passed through the Wisconsin state Senate last November requires schools to promote abstinence and marriage in sex ed classes as the only way to prevent unplanned pregnancies and STDs, but doesn't bar lessons on contraception.

Last October, New York City rocked the boat when the state's Department of Education recommended new curriculum inform students on sexual topics including everything from bestiality to phone sex and vibrators.

The proposal was greeted with staunch criticism, leading the New York Department of Education to dial back its proposed changes, by removing some of the more X-rated content including flash cards for middle schoolers which explained sex acts like anal sex and mutual masturbation.

Comments

[TheCommentary]

07:02 PM on 03/09/2012

This video just says it all so well--

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MJHK0eV8Fk

[SansACause]

03:35 PM on 03/08/2012

Collectively, the US is losing its mind. It's evil genius on the part of the Tea Party/GOP masters, though. More poor kids who grow up and vote Republican, like Mississippi, Alabama, and Oklahoma.

[hamchick]

01:16 AM on 03/02/2012

My vote? Take it out of schools and have the parents teach their kids what they feel is appropriate. If the parents are concerned that their kids will have sex, teach them how to use a condom. If they don't want them to know about sex.....well they will find out. If they want them to reserve themselves for a spouse, teach them that! If they have to they can buy books on how to teach about sex! (I suggest Margaret Sanger's "What Every Mother Should Know") It's sex. If somebody has kids, they've had it, and it shouldn't be something that they are ashamed to teach their kids. That's just my take on the subject.

[Spenser Hodum]

09:46 PM on 02/29/2012

... This is freaking brilliant :o obviously by not know what sex is it makes the students immune to becoming pregnant and getting STDs. Oh wait it doesn't they are still going to experiment but this time without knowing the consequences.

[icstars]

09:48 PM on 02/27/2012

I heard the sponsor of this bill talking on NPR. He doesn't have a good command of the English language (listen to the show, KUER 90.1), and while I think he genuinely thinks his bill is a good idea, he is exactly the kind of uninformed person who we should not have making laws in this state or this country. He wants to teach kids that they can have good relationships without sex. GREAT! However, when confronted with the idea that some will have sex anyway, he has no solution for them--apparently other than to let them become parents with STDs. I'm not happy about this, being a Utah taxpayer.

Lack of information is dangerous, not the other way around. My state senator and rep are democrats, so I know they will oppose this ridiculous bill. Nonetheless, I'm contacting them with my outrage that the state legislature is considering this great disservice to our young people by withholding health information from them--and let's be honest--because people like this bill's sponsor are confused. They both believe their kids can't be trusted to do the right thing if they think they have a choice....AND at the same time, they want them to be in danger if they do make the "wrong" choice. This bill is a shame on Utah and loving parents.

[klthomas]

11:04 PM on 02/26/2012

so what about the mormans that are not legally married to their 14 wives should they pratice what they preach i think so. come on kids are going to have sex regradless if you make it a law in school that they can only teach abstinence. and the law in wisconsin where they teach if you want to have sex get married that is like telling kids if you want to have sex you have to get married and if you get a divorce that is like a total sin in the eyes of god. Kids are going to have sex one way or another. if you are going to teach sex ed teach kids what a condom is and what birth control is and where you can go to get them and that no one will judge you for your choice

[krayoncolorz]

10:48 AM on 02/26/2012

oh stupid stupid people! where abstinence only education happens the unwanted and teen pregnancy rates sky rocket as well as stds. why are we so afraid of sex? yes, i want my children to wait until they are married to have sex but i'm not stupid enough to only hope for that. perhaps my kids will make it and be some of the few that make it until they get married but they will know about condoms and how to use them and they will be available to them. i of course won't be promoting sex and i will be teaching them why they should wait, but one mistake should not turn into two or a life time of regrets. we need to teach responsibility and not live in some fantasy world. i wonder how many of the people voting for this bill had sex before they were married? crickets i'm sure

[KMAJ]

05:47 AM on 02/26/2012

You realize, of course, that there are no rules against teaching contraception at home.

Has anyone even considered raising their own kids?

[benji85]

09:17 AM on 02/26/2012

Seems like most parents tend to forget that.

[krayoncolorz]

10:49 AM on 02/26/2012

well if all the parents believe what these congress people believe then the kids aren't going to learn about safe sex and end up with a lot of pregnant teens or teens with stds as they are still going to have sex.

[KMAJ]

04:54 PM on 02/26/2012

Unfortunately, the statistics say otherwise. How many Conservative Republicans live in inner city neighborhoods where the teen pregnancy numbers are skyrocketing?

I am not defending the argument. I think this is wrong, EVERY alternative should be taught to our children.

I just believe that parent need to take some of the responsibility in raising their own children.

[Hiker54]

09:13 PM on 02/25/2012

Worked fantastic in Texas.

Abstinence only sex ed and one of the highest teen pregnancies rates in the country.

This is your future, Utah.

[sternn]

06:08 PM on 02/25/2012

Yeh, because ignorance is always the best solution to a problem.

[dpc2224]

01:10 PM on 02/25/2012

"Stupid is as stupid does"... Forrest Gump.

[El Chingaso]

12:26 PM on 02/25/2012

"Abstinence-Only Sex Education Bill In Utah Prohibits Teaching Contraception "

Small-minded fantasy knows no bounds...

The logic supporting such a bill is alarmingly devoid of basic adolescent psychology: tell a kid not to do it, and they want to do it even more -- Mormon or not. Utah legislators ought to work on their own unresolved issues from childhood and pull the bill from further consideration. Public schools (and state legislatures) are dumb enough...

[trip0270]

12:13 PM on 02/25/2012

Anecdotaly I knew two girls in my age group who were both mormons who came from strict homes where sex education was not acceptable. They were both pregnant before graduating high school. Furthermore, my own fairly secular up bringing included open conversations in the home about sexuality and an expectation that I would attend the optional instruction offered at school each year. I graduated high school a virgin. Empirically study after study after study tells us the same thing; knowledge and understanding of sexuality leads to lower rates of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection and ignorance is it's own reward.

[dpc2224]

01:17 PM on 02/25/2012

True for sure. It may be the most important information for teens to get. A "mistake" often leads to a bad life event where the girl ends up PG , on welfare,and the guy is either gone or must pay support for twenty years. That's a lose/lose. Family planning should be a right for every Ameican since it is essential to future happiness and economic stability.

[Gwenhevare]

12:04 PM on 02/25/2012

"Why don't we just be honest with them upfront that sex outside marriage is devastating?"

Really? That's their answer? I just got married after 16 years of having sex without being married (to the same person).. totally devastating... look no babies either, no std's, no infidelities. We've been together longer than most marriages last. The reason we did finally get married was for health insurance, sad really.

Maybe they should change what they say, I think 'Sex without proper protection is devastating' works better. They're setting themselves up for a world of hurt if they don't educate people about how to properly protect themselves from pregnancy and std's.

[stopnlisten]

11:29 AM on 02/25/2012

What world do these people live in? Just because you talk about birth control doesn't mean kids are going to run around having sex all the time. Folks, they do that anyway. Why not make sure they are protected? Not talking about it will not make it go away.