Media

For Immediate Release:
February 10, 2005

Contact: Adrienne Verrilli
at: 212-819-9770 x325

Media Alert

SIECUS Applauds the Introduction of the Responsible Education About Life Act

Bill Would Allocate $206 Million for Comprehensive Sexuality Education

New York, NY - Today, Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced the Responsible Education About Life Act (REAL). This bill would create a funding stream administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that would award $206 million per year to states for comprehensive sexuality education that is age-appropriate, medically accurate, and stresses abstinence while also educating young people about contraception. Funded programs would also stress family communication, responsible decision-making, and negotiation skills.

"All teens, regardless of whether or not they are sexually active, deserve open, honest, and medically accurate information about their sexual health in order to make responsible and informed decisions about their health and their futures," said Bill Smith, vice president for public policy at SIECUS. "The introduction of the Responsible Education About Life Act is an important step in ensuring that young people receive the life-saving information they need," Smith continued.

New HIV infections in the U.S. are hitting young people under the age of 25 particularly hard and the rate of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) continues to grow among young people, with teens acquiring more than four million STDs every year. Additionally, in spite of recent decreases, teen pregnancy and birth rates in the U.S. are some of the highest in the industrialized world. Each year in the U.S., there are still nearly 900,000 teen pregnancies.

"We know that young people who receive sexuality education that includes information about abstinence and contraception are more likely to delay sexual activity and use contraceptives when they do become sexually active," Smith explained. "By funding comprehensive sexuality education, the REAL Act will give lawmakers the opportunity to support programs that will have a positive, life-long impact on young people," Smith continued.

Currently there is no federal funding stream dedicated to comprehensive sexuality education programs. Since 1982, however, the U.S. government has spent over a billion dollars on unproven abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. Of that billion, $620 million dollars has been spent in just the last seven years. Under the leadership of President Bush there has been a continued expansion of investment in these programs with $168 million allocated in FY 2005 alone. Now the President is seeking an all-time high of $206 million in his proposed FY 2006 budget. These programs are prohibited from discussing contraceptives except in the context of failure rates and have never been proven effective.

"Our young people deserve comprehensive sexuality education that provides unbiased, accurate information about sexuality and relationships including vital information on life-saving topics such as STDs, HIV, and pregnancy prevention," said Smith. "SIECUS applauds Representative Lee and Senator Lautenberg and all of our friends in Congress who support this bill for standing up for the health and well-being of our nation's young people," Smith continued.

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