New York Times Reports McCain Ad Distorts Obama's Record On Sex Education Measure In Illinois Senate

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 12 Sep 2008 - 7:00 PDT

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The New York Times on Thursday examined a television advertisement released by Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) that criticizes Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) for supporting a comprehensive sex education measure in 2003 while in the Illinois Senate. Obama voted in favor of the measure in committee, where it passed, but the bill never came to a full vote in the Senate. He was not a sponsor of the bill.

The measure sought to require "age and developmentally appropriate" sex education that was medically accurate for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. It was supported by several education and public health groups, including the Illinois Parent Teacher Association, the Illinois State Medical Society, the Illinois Public Health Association and the Illinois Education Association (Rohter, New York Times, 9/11).

The McCain campaign's ad criticizes Obama's record and says that his only education-related accomplishment was the state sex education measure. The ad asks, "Learning about sex before learning to read?" followed by, "Barack Obama. Wrong on education. Wrong for your family" (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 9/10). According to the Times, the ad "seriously distort[s] the record" and "recycl[es] old and discredited accusations" used by Alan Keyes, who ran against Obama in Illinois' 2004 U.S. Senate race.

The Times reports that the ad misrepresents Obama's record by claiming he favors "comprehensive sex education" for kindergarteners. The measure was comprehensive in that it would have required a curriculum from kindergarten to high school but would not have required kindergartners to be exposed to the "entire gamut of sex-related issues," according to the Times. It also would have allowed parents to withdraw their children from classroom instruction if they felt it conflicted with their beliefs or values.

In 2004, Obama said that he understood the objective of the bill as it pertained to kindergarteners was to protect them against sexual abuse. Obama at the time said he and his wife had discussed the "possibility of somebody touching" their two young daughters "inappropriately, and what that might mean." He added that such lessons were included in the measure so that "kindergarteners are able to exercise some possible protection against abuse."

Obama spokesperson Bill Burton said the McCain ad is "shameful and downright perverse." Tucker Bounds, a spokesperson for the McCain campaign, said the Obama campaign "did not and cannot dispute a shred of the content in the ad" (New York Times, 9/11).

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