June 2, 2010

In a time when incivility is all too present in public discourse and lawmaking gets bogged down in divisiveness, we enthusiastically commend the Republican and Democratic representatives in Harrisburg for finding common ground on a difficult topic – how to protect the sexual health of our young people. As a clergy, we believe that a society has a moral imperative to provide medically accurate information to young adults in order to keep them safe. House Bill 1163 holds great promise. It will ensure that these young adults are taught to abstain from premature sexual behavior, but it also would dispel misleading stereotypes and correct the misinformation that harms our young people. With one in four teen girls already infected with sexually transmitted infections, this education is sorely needed.

Because we often minister to families through their times of struggle, we know the difficulties some young people have growing up – especially through the teen years. Passage of this bill will help reduce the ignorance that contributes to the 23,000 teen pregnancies annually in this state and potentially reduce the number of abortions. The immediate passage of HB 1163 bill will help families and young adults in their decision-making process by giving them the necessary tools.

With bipartisan support the legislators have developed a bill to maximize the freedom of school boards and parents by allowing local school boards to determine their own sexuality curriculum as long as it is based on medically-accurate and evidence-based data. In addition, it will allow parents to opt out, should they choose to provide sex education to their children themselves. In our view this develops a win-win legislative package without compromising our youth.
At no cost to the State and little cost to local schools, our legislators have found a way to do the right thing for Pennsylvania families. This is something all of us can support. It sends a message that, in this State, we care about our young people enough to protect them. And that is what family values are all about.

Sincerely,

Rev. Beverly Dale
The Christian Association
University of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvanians For Responsible Sex Education (PARSE) To Hold Press Conference And Demonstration In Support Of Comprehensive Sex Education Bill On Monday, May 24

House Bill 1163 – The “Healthy Youth Act” – to face crucial vote in Pennsylvania state legislature

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                             CONTACT: Carol Petraitis, Co-Chair, PARSE

May 19, 2010                                                                                         (215) 592-1513, ext. 115

                                                                                                            (610) 368-7446 (cell)

HARRISBURG, PA — A demonstration and press conference, featuring Rep. Chelsa Wagner and Dr. Rollyn Ornstein, will be held in support of H.B. 1163 on Monday, May 24 at 1:00 pm in the Capitol Rotunda.  The bill aims to benefit Pennsylvania’s public school students by creating a minimum standard for sex education and requiring the instruction of age-appropriate, comprehensive sex education.

WHAT: Demonstration to support H.B. 1163, the Healthy Youth Act

WHO:

- State Rep. Chelsa Wagner (D – Allegheny), the primary sponsor of HB 1163, will discuss her plans for moving the legislation to the full house for a vote before June 30.

- Dr. Rollyn Ornstein, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey Medical Center, will discuss the health crisis facing Pennsylvania’s youth as evidenced by the surging rates of STD’s and HIV infections among teens.

- 20 youth from PARSE organizations will visually represent the health crisis, which is a direct result of the lack of comprehensive sex education in public schools and the millions of dollars spent in Pennsylvania on failed abstinence-only until marriage programs.

WHEN: Monday, May 24, 2010, 1:00pm

WHERE: Capitol Rotunda

Pennsylvanians for Responsible Sex Education (PARSE http://www.parseinpa.org/) is a coalition of 22 medical, educational, advocacy and health organizations, including the Pennsylvania State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, Pennsylvania Coalition to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, and the PA Section of the American Academy of Pediatrics, that support comprehensive, age-appropriate sex education in public schools.

“…Preventing teen pregnancy is a complicated business. American teenagers grow up in a sex-saturated popular culture that at the same time discourages open discussion of sexuality. In other parts of the developed world, teenagers are no less likely to be sexually active, but are much less likely to get pregnant or contract sexually transmitted diseases. The difference: information.”

“The significant drop in teen pregnancy rates in the 1990s was overwhelmingly the result of more and better use of contraceptives among sexually active teens. However, this decline started to stall out in the early 2000s, at the same time that sex education programs aimed exclusively at promoting abstinence—and prohibited by law from discussing the benefits of contraception—became increasingly widespread and teens’ use of contraceptives declined.” continue reading

A CDC panel of experts also found there is “insufficient evidence to know whether programs that focus on encouraging teens to remain sexually abstinent until marriage are effective…”  Continue reading this article.