St Louis Planned Parenthood Upset over Sex-Ed Bill

Sex-ed bill is attempt to pacify hard-liners

Parents want their teens to be healthy and safe. Missouri's sex education law contains a common-sense approach to keeping teens healthy and safe. The law sets requirements if school districts offer sex education, including an abstinence-based, medically accurate curriculum that includes information on success and failure rates of contraception, to assist students in preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Planned Parenthood was proud to help enact this law in 1999 with the help of leaders who have opposing views on reproductive rights. Times have changed in Jefferson City.

Supporters of House Bill 1075 oppose responsible sex education; they believe "abstinence-only" is the only answer, even though study after study has proven it to be ineffective and harmful.

This year's fight is about Gov. Matt Blunt's wrong priorities and a political promise to conservative hard-liners. Mr. Blunt made a promise to ban Planned Parenthood from schools to members of a church in Springfield, days after Missouri Right to Life threatened to pull its support of him because of his position on stem-cell research.

Sexual health and personal responsibility begin with education. Education starts at home and should be reinforced in schools and by trusted and knowledgeable adults. Parents agree, as shown in polls for decades.

All of Planned Parenthood's programs encourage abstinence, promote parent-child communication, are medically accurate and age-appropriate and give teens information to make responsible and informed choices and be safe in their lives and relationships.

Banning Planned Parenthood from public schools is election-year political pandering. It would eliminate the best, and often only, sex-education programs, information and trained educators available to students and parents. More than 90 percent of Planned Parenthood's medical services promote prevention. Planned Parenthood is committed to putting prevention first. Missouri's elected officials should do the same. The Legislature should enact legislation that focuses on the only proven ways to reduce unintended pregnancy and abortion: access to information and contraception. Missourians should see attacks on access to information, education and family planning for what they are: attempts to satisfy special interests who have the wrong priorities for Missouri. The Senate should put prevention first and defeat this bill.

Paula M. Gianino | St. Louis
President and CEO, Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region

Information on HB1075 can be found here.

And who would not want Planned Parenthood teaching their children about sex...? This bill deserves every Missourians support...hopefully, the baby murderers at Planned Infanticide will take the hint and leave the state....