- The Washington Times - Friday, February 22, 2013

Sexual education that focuses on abstinence is not working and not worthy of much federal funding, according to two Democratic lawmakers who have introduced a bill to scale back the teaching principle in schools.

“Comprehensive sex education programs reduce behaviors that put young people at risk, and it’s past time we get real about giving young people the information they need from trusted sources to live healthy lives,” said Rep. Barbara Lee, in a report from The Hill.

She’s joined with Sen. Frank Lautenberg to push for the passage of The Real Education for Healthy Youth Act requiring taxpayer dollars to teach “effective, age-appropriate and medically accurate” sex education — that’s light on the abstinence, The Hill reports.

An example of effective sex education in the bill is teaching about sexually transmitted diseases, according to The Hill report.

“It’s clear that abstinence-only programs simply don’t work,” said Mr. Lautenberg, in The Hill report. “It’s time to bring sex education up-to-date to reflect the real-life situations facing American youth.”

• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.

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