Mich. Bill Would Require Comprehensive Sex Education In Schools

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 18 Sep 2009 - 3:00 PDT

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A bill (HB 5163) in the Michigan House would require all public schools to teach about contraception and preventing sexually transmitted infections in addition to abstinence, the Capital News Service/Petoskey News-Review reports. Under current state law, all schools must teach abstinence, but schools may opt out of teaching about contraception. The bill states that instructors would be required to "discuss the benefits of abstaining from sex until marriage and the benefits of protecting oneself if a pupil is sexually active, and provide the tools to make informed and responsible decisions."

The bill is sponsored by state Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith (D), who is seeking the 2010 Democratic gubernatorial nomination, and three other Democratic state representatives. The House Judiciary Committee recently voted unanimously to approve the bill, which awaits action by the full House.

Smith said, "We're not supplanting abstinence," adding, "We're saying all curriculum that is medically appropriate needs to be taught in schools." According to Smith, one reason the bill was introduced was because of feedback from high school students who said that their schools are teaching medically inaccurate information.

Michigan Association of School Boards officials say school districts are prepared to meet the bill's requirements. Peter Spadafore, assistant director of government relations for MASB, said, "Studies have shown that the abstinence-only education is not the best course of action."

Dan Jarvis, research and policy director for the conservative Michigan Family Forum, said, "There are two primary things we oppose. One is a requirement that every school teach sex education, and the other requirement is that schools teach it from a comprehensive perspective rather than an abstinence-only perspective." He added, "We just think that the parents and school board members of each district should be able to decide what to teach" (Lawler, Capital News Service/Petoskey News-Review, 9/15).

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