North Carolina House Concurs with Senate Sex-Education Bill, Legislation Now Heads to Gov. Perdue
The Healthy Youth Act will help teens prevent unintended pregnancy and avoid STDs in North Carolina. Raleigh, N.C. - Sean Kosofsky, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina, issued the following statement after the North Carolina House voted to accept the Senate's version of HB88, the Healthy Youth Act. This bill would provide access to age-appropriate, comprehensive sex education for middle-school students. The bill now goes to Gov. Perdue, who has 10 days to either sign the bill or allow it to become law. "The passage of the Healthy Youth Act marks a huge step forward for improving teens' access to scientifically-accurate, age-appropriate sex education," said Sean Kosofsky, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina. "North Carolinians overwhelmingly support comprehensive sex education and this bill reflects that common-sense value. Abstinence should be included in any sex-education program, but it cannot be abstinence-only. Parents want to provide young people with the truth about contraception and other ways to avoid sexually transmitted disease and prevent unintended pregnancy. We commend the North Carolina legislature for putting teens' health above partisan politics. We look forward to Gov. Perdue signing this landmark legislation." The Healthy Youth Act requires, for the first time, that the abstinence section of the larger Reproductive Health and Safety Education curriculum be based in scientific evidence and peer-reviewed data from experts. For the first time in more than 13 years, all students in North Carolina will receive an objective, scientifically based and proven curriculum that will seek to reduce unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and protect our students from the devastating consequences of each.
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