Illinois anti-abortion-rights groups condemn sex-ed bill
The Illinois General Assembly will address a proposed state education bill mandating more comprehensive sex education in its fall veto session, which begins
Jul 31, 2020269.8K Shares3.7M Views
The Illinois General Assembly will address a proposed state education bill mandating more comprehensive sex education in its fall veto session, which begins today. Anti-abortion-rights groups, such as the Illinois Family Institute and the Illinois Right to Life, have condemned the bill on morality charges and are trying to thwart its passage.
HB 3027would amend the state school code and require that each class that teaches sex education and/or discusses sexual intercourse in sixth through 12th grades must include instruction on both abstinence and contraception as preventative methods against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Additionally, the sex-ed instruction would need to be evidenced-based and medically accurate; however, school districts that do not currently provide sex education will not be required to teach it.
In districts that do provide classes or courses on sex ed, teachers will have to teach students abstaining from sexual intercourse ”is a responsible and positive decision and is the only protection that is 100% effective against unwanted teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) when transmitted sexually.” This is a departure from current sex-ed instruction, which emphasizes that “abstinence until marriage” is the “expected norm” and gives no information on contraception.
The Chicago-based Illinois Right to Life is urging state representatives to oppose HB 3027, calling it a “dangerous sex education bill.” The Illinois Family Institute, based in Carol Stream, Ill., has similarly called on all Illinois senators to oppose the bill, because the group says this bill is “yet another attempt by legislator-ideologues to use public money to normalize sexual immorality and perversion by inculcating children and teens with subjectivist, relativist assumptions about sexuality.”
The Lake County Right to Life, based in Grayslake, Ill., recently had an editorial published in the Chicago blog Chicago Now, claiming HB 3027 will promote abortion:
“„It mandates curriculum promoting abortion, stating that it is legal, safe, and parents don’t have to know about it.
“„It calls for “medically accurate” sex education, but the curriculum misinforms students by telling them that “morning after pills” don’t cause abortion.
“„It will force abstinence programs out of the public schools by taking away local control and mandating the teaching of contraception and condoms.
In addition to support from reproductive-rights groups such as Planned Parenthood and National Organization for Women, LGBT-rights and HIV/AIDS activists have also promoted the revised sex-education law. Early this month, the Chicago Urban League hosted a community forumfor groups including the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, the Black Women Reproductive Justice and Chicago Black Gay Men Caucus to promote the bill in light of recent rising cases of STDs among Illinois’ black population.
One of the speakers at the event, dubbed “Stop Transmitting Silence,” was Rush Medical Center’s Dr. Kimberly Smith, who was quoted [
href=”http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=34184″>by the Windy City Times]() saying:
“„“I think we have to get past all this moral crap, and really focus on the reality: Kids are having sex, and they’re experimenting. We can stem the tide of future [HIV] infections by identifying who’s infected now and making sure they’re on therapy. If you’re on therapy, not only are you living a long life, but you don’t have to worry about passing it on to your partner.”
Rhyley Carney
Reviewer
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