I am writing concerning HB 286 — Reproductive Education Amendments — specifically 53G-10-402. I would like to say that I appreciate the section on instruction of refusal skills. In light of the #MeToo movement, we can finally have an open dialog about sexual assault. Educating young people on their right to refuse sexual advances (and the importance of respecting that right) is exponentially important.
I am concerned about the section regarding education about contraceptives. This bill states that materials adopted by a school board must comply with board rules prohibiting “the advocacy or encouragement of the use of contraceptive methods or devices.” Why wouldn’t we want to advocate contraception methods? Teen pregnancy in the U.S. has been declining since the 1990s, and according to research by Columbia University and the Guttmacher institute, this is linked to improvements in teens’ contraceptive use.
The research also shows that this has little or nothing to do with teens’ delaying sex. Some teens are going to choose to have sex — we can’t stop them from doing that but if we can educate them on the importance of contraceptives, we can cut down even more on unwanted teen pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted disease.
Madison Rossi, Salt Lake City