N.C. Bill Gives Students 'Vital Access' To Accurate Sex Education Instruction, Editorial States

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 30 Jun 2009 - 6:00 PST

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A bill (S. 221) approved by the North Carolina Legislature that would require a public school sex education curriculum covering abstinence, contraception and sexually transmitted infections "will be the most comprehensive and science-based approach the state has used" for sex education, a Charlotte Observer editorial states, adding that Gov. Bev Perdue (D) "should sign it." The bill would require all public school districts in the state to teach a curriculum that focuses on abstinence but also includes information on preventing pregnancy and STIs. Parents would be able to have their children removed from the comprehensive portions of instruction. According to the editorial, the measure "still gives parents a choice in deciding what kind of sex education their children will receive." The editorial adds, "It also finally provides a curriculum that gives N.C. students vital access to age-appropriate, science-based information critical to their health, safety and well-being," which is "the kind of information that can help them make smart choices in serious situations."

Parents are "often the best people for kids to turn to for advice and information" on sex, but "not all children have parents who can provide it, or are even willing to," and "not all children [who] go to their parents adhere to their advice," the editorial states. It continues, "The schools provide another avenue to get this critical advice and information -- and state lawmakers are right to make it available." According to the Observer, North Carolina has the ninth-highest teenage pregnancy rate in the U.S., and about "20,000 teenagers will get pregnant in North Carolina this year." A "comprehensive, science-based education program can help reduce the number of unintended teen pregnancies" and help reduce the spread of STIs, the editorial says. It concludes, "By reaching agreement on this matter, state lawmakers have given the children of this state vital tools to safeguard their health and welfare. ... Perdue should sign this bill and make it law" (Charlotte Observer, 6/26).

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