Obama Should 'End War' On Sex Education, Sharing Of Accurate Sex Information, Opinion Piece Says

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 25 Jul 2008 - 9:00 PDT

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Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) can put an "end to the war" on sex education in public schools and the "sharing of sex information to people of all ages" if elected president, Violet Blue -- author and editor of nearly two dozen sexual health books and erotica collections -- writes in a San Francisco Chronicle opinion piece. According to Blue, in order to enact such changes that people are "hungry for, and in some cases desperate for," Obama must:

~ "Kill the abstinence programs" and "[f]ire ... anyone with a religious agenda in a position of power in relation to public health";

~ Create sex education programs that are age-appropriate beginning at age five;

~ Require all sex education programs to include "practical information about reproduction (including a woman's right to choose and male responsibilities of parenthood), contraception, STIs, sexual pleasure, masturbation, consent, homosexuality, sexual tolerance and gender identity";

~ Provide federal funding for a teen sex education counselor to be on staff at schools at all times; and

~ Create a task force to research and implement programs that visit schools to present information on "relevant and current sexual issues," including "age-appropriate sex ed books," workshops on sexual consent and religious faith and sexuality.

Obama and his wife, Michelle, are "cool" and "might just totally get what young girls and boys are going through," Blue writes, concluding, "Or at least I want to think that. We need this change more than ever" (Blue, San Francisco Chronicle, 7/24).

~ NPR's "Morning Edition" on Wednesday reported on the abortion rights positions of Obama and Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). The segment includes comments from Obama, Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, and David O'Steen, executive director of the National Right to Life Committee (Rovner, "Morning Edition," NPR, 7/23).

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