McCain Ad Criticizes Obama For Supporting Age-Appropriate Sex Education In Illinois State Senate

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 11 Sep 2008 - 5:00 PST

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The campaign of Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) on Tuesday released a television advertisement that criticizes Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) for supporting age-appropriate sex education beginning in kindergarten while he served in the Illinois Senate, the AP/Google.com reports.

The measure at issue would have required public schools that provided sex education to include medically accurate, age-appropriate lessons for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Obama has said that age-appropriate lessons for young children means being taught about sexual predators and the difference between a "good touch and bad touch." Lessons for other grades would have covered the consequences of unprotected sex and the effects of contraception and abstinence, according to the AP/Google.com. Obama voted in favor of the bill in the state Senate in 2003 but was not a sponsor. The measure never became law.

The McCain campaign in the ad criticizes Obama's record on education and says his only accomplishment was the sex education measure in the Illinois Senate. The ad asks, "Learning about sex before learning to read?" adding, "Barack Obama. Wrong on education. Wrong for your family" (Wills, AP/Google.com, 9/9).

Obama spokesperson Bill Burton said it is "shameful and downright perverse for the McCain campaign to use a bill that was written to protect young children from sexual predators as a recycled and discredited political attack against a father of two young girls." Burton said that McCain last week said he "couldn't define what honor was," adding, "Now we know why" (Reston/Nicholas, Los Angeles Times, 9/10). McCain spokesperson Brian Rogers said the Obama campaign has "not disputed any of the facts in our ad, but if they want to question John McCain's honor and record of service to this country, then that's a debate we welcome" (AP/Google.com, 9/9).

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