Wake County Residents Support Sex Education
A poll conducted for NARAL Pro Choice North Carolina by Public Policy Polling finds that Wake County residents overwhelmingly support voluntary comprehensive sex education in Wake County high schools. When faced with the facts, more than 900 teenagers diagnosed with STDs and more than 1,100 teenage pregnancies in Wake County in 2004, residents supported sex education by a greater than 7 to 1 margin. 85% say that voluntary comprehensive sex education is vitally important or desirable; while a mere 12% oppose such offerings.
Those attitudes extend to voting behavior as well. Sixty-six percent of Wake County residents say they are more likely to vote for a school board candidate that supports voluntary comprehensive sex education in high schools, while only 13% say they are less likely to vote for such a candidate.
Meanwhile, residents of Wake County showed little confidence in the current policy. 40% think that abstinence only education is ineffective, while only 20% think that it is highly effective.
NARAL Pro Choice North Carolina is the only organization in North Carolina dedicated exclusively to political advocacy for reproductive rights. NARAL works to reduce the need for abortion by focusing on preventing unintended pregnancies through sex education, access to contraception and family planning. Melissa Reed, Executive Director, stated, “Only when young people have complete, accurate and reliable information can they make informed and appropriate decisions about sex and reproductive health.” More information on NARAL Pro Choice North Carolina work to protect reproductive rights in NC can be found at www.ProChoiceNorthCarolina.org.
Since 2001, Public Policy Polling (PPP) has provided an alternative to expensive and time-consuming traditional telephone surveys. PPP, based in Raleigh, has a track record of accurately predicting election outcomes and providing quality consultation to its clients based on its survey research. Examples of PPP’s previous research can be found at www.publicpolicypolling.com.
PPP surveyed 760 Wake County adults on January 10 and 11. The survey has a margin of error of ± 3.7%. Other factors, such as refusal to be interviewed and weighting, may introduce additional error that is more difficult to quantify. Results broken down by parental status, gender, race, party affiliation and age can be found at Public Policy Polling
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