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Editorial Support for Comprehensive Sex Ed and a look at the film Sex Ed and the State

Rachel Hart,
Reproductive Freedom Project
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September 6, 2007

Over the last several weeks op-eds and editorials supporting comprehensive sex ed have appeared in papers across the country. This is not at all surprising given that the end of summer marks the beginning of a new school year.An in the out of Georgia encourages the to reconsider its abstinence-only-until-marriage approach to sex ed. Citing the efforts of to reduce both the poverty rate (Athens-Clarke County has the rate in the nation) and the teen pregnancy rate ("approximately one of every three young girls in the county will have a child before she is 20 years old") the editorial notes that without a change in the curriculum it will be difficult to tackle these issues.In New Mexico, says that the abstinence-only-until-marriage program Albuquerque's Best Choice "does not offer the best choice, either in the integrity of its own operations [the program is currently being by federal authorities for "fiscal irregularities"] or in the sex-education information that it is transmitting to students in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho schools" and cites a comprehensive approach as the best for students in a county with a high teen pregnancy rate.An in the out of , New York, says comprehensive sex ed should be added to the three Rs -- reading, writing, and arithmetic.

A bad grade on a homework assignment can be overcome, but there are some life choices which cannot be done over. An unintended pregnancy has serious long-term implications for teens and families. A sexually transmitted infection can impact a person's entire life. So why aren't we giving students the education they need to make good life decisions?

And finally, tackles the ongoing controversy over what students should learn when it comes to sex education. , which started out as a master's thesis for Jim Winkle when he was a student at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health, examines the legislative battle over codifying sex ed in Minnesota. You can watch a preview of the film .

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