The
Pennsylvania House Education Committee, April 28, voted 14-11 with one absence to send to the
full House a bill that would mandate teaching sex education in public
schools.
H.B. 1163
would require that “not engaging in sexual intercourse is the only certain way to prevent pregnancy and to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV” and “provide students with accurate information that includes the following: Side effects, health benefits, effectiveness, safety and proper use of all FDA-approved contraceptive methods in preventing pregnancy.”
It will allow parents to opt their children out.
The state now requires districts to teach students about HIV and AIDS and
how to avoid contracting them, but any other instruction on sexuality is
at the district’s discretion.
State Rep. Chelsa Wagner
(D-22), the bill’s sponsor, says the mandate is needed to help lower pregnancy rates and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
One wonders, however, if the problem places are really the school districts that now don’t teach how to use condoms.
Hat tip to PennLive.Com