Pro-Life Groups Challenge Healthy Youth Act

Pro-life groups are currently working on legislation to repeal Wisconsin’s Healthy Youth Act because the law does not allow abstinence-only sex education in Wisconsin schools.

Former Gov. Jim Doyle signed the Healthy Youth Act into law in Feb. 2010.  The law mandates that if a Wisconsin school district chooses to teach sex education, the program must provide comprehensive, age appropriate and medically accurate information about contraception to prevent unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.  Also included in the curriculum is information about abstinence and relationship communication skills.  If a school district opts not to include sexual education in their curriculum, it must notify parents.

Pro-life groups, including Wisconsin Right to Life and Pro-Life Wisconsin oppose the law and have targeted it on their legislative agendas.  Their opposition to the Healthy Youth Act is based on its comprehensive approach to sex education.

“Wisconsin Right to Life's interest in … the so-called Healthy Youth Act rests solely on the fact that it prohibits public school districts from offering … curricula that concentrates solely on abstinence as the best and healthiest means to prevent pregnancy,” said Wisconsin Right to Life Legislative Director, Sue Armacost.

Supporters of the Healthy Youth Act claim that its comprehensive approach is necessary to produce healthy, educated teenagers who can make informed choices about sexual activity.  They point to soaring pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease rates among Wisconsin’s youth and stress that abstinence should not be presented as the only sure way to prevent pregnancy and STDs.

“We know that teens are engaging in risky sexual behaviors…The fact is, an uneducated teen becomes an uneducated adult,” said Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin’s spokesperson, Amanda Harrington.  “The Healthy Youth act ensures that the most current standards of sex education are being taught and that public schools are using programs proven to reduce teen pregnancy and STD rates.”

Opponents of the law also object to the fact that the sexual education curriculum will be determined by the state.

“We believe local school districts should have the ability to decide for themselves if they wish to present abstinence as the choice students should make in order to prevent pregnancy…the Healthy Youth Act wrongly takes that decision-making process out of the hands of parents and educators and permits the State to dictate what is to be taught,” said Armacost.

Holly Berkovitz, a UW-Madison junior from Keqaunee, Wis., disagrees, arguing that a state-mandated sex education program makes sure students across the state receive the same information.

“I really feel like rural areas would be the ones to suffer without state-mandated sex ed standards,” said Berkovitz.  “Those areas tend to be the ones that stick to the status quo and might not have advocates to speak out about sex education.”

Still, challengers of the Healthy Youth Act stress that abstinence is the healthiest choice for students to make, so should be the only option that should be presented.  According to Armacost, abstinence-only education will result in fewer abortions in Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Right to Life is currently working on legislation that would repeal the law.

“I think abortion rates in Wisconsin would be much higher with abstinence-only sex ed.  The comprehensive approach doesn’t put ideas in teenagers’ heads, it teaches them how to be responsible,” said Berkovitz.