REAL Act Fails to Deliver What Teens Really Need
Washington, DC (March 23, 2009) — Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced the Responsible Education About Life (REAL) Act in Congress on March 17, 2009. Lee and Lautenberg have introduced it in Congress since 2005.
The REAL Act seeks to create a dedicated funding stream to states for so-called comprehensive sex education. In December 2008, the Department of Health and Human Services released a comparative funding analysis, finding a 1:4 funding disparity between abstinence education and comprehensive sex education. NAEA questions the wisdom of increasing the disproportion even further, by putting even more money toward an approach that has cost the American taxpayer billions of dollars over the last 4 decades, yet delivered little in return.
“Not a single school-based comprehensive sex ed program has increased consistent condom use for more than three months, despite that being the focus of their educational efforts”, noted Valerie Huber, executive director of NAEA. “Surely in these tough economic times we can find a better use of taxpayer dollars.” she added.
During a news conference promoting the REAL Act, advocates admitted that the new REAL Act funds could be used on sex education for young children. At least one of the primary organizational backers, SIECUS, favors sex education beginning as early as kindergarten, according to its website.
With 68% of schools already teaching contraceptive education and fewer than 25% teaching abstinence-centered education, it is clear that comprehensive sex education must shoulder at least part of the responsibility for the recent upswing in teen birth rates.
“Comprehensive sex education gives teens the inaccurate notion that a condom will protect them from consequences of casual sex, when we know that only abstinence can do that” concluded Huber.
Text for the REAL Act can be found her http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.611:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:Rachel Turner
404-285-1876