There is a cleverly named bill making its way through the New York State Legislature. It’s called the Healthy Teens Act (S1342 Winner/A2856 Gottfried). The Assembly passed the bill by a wide margin. After all, who could be against “healthy teens?” But the bill is actually a funding mechanism for Planned Parenthood and its affiliates. It authorizes the State to fund outside groups to develop and teach “comprehensive sex education” in public schools.

Comprehensive sex education is reactive – it assumes that teens will be sexually active, and emphasizes “safe sex” through condoms and other contraceptive methods. It is notoriously explicit and graphic. The topic guidelines recommended by SIECUS (the foremost national advocate for comprehensive sex education) include masturbation, sexual intercourse, cohabitation, oral and anal sex and homosexuality.

The alternative is abstinence-based sex education. This is a proactive approach reminding teens that the only safe sex is sex within the bounds of marriage. It does include information about sexually transmitted diseases, but promotes the higher ideals of a monogamous marital relationship. The Bush administration has emphasized this approach to sex education, and the results have been very positive with declining teen pregnancy rates, but New York State has refused additional federal dollars for abstinence-based education.

By passing the Healthy Teens Act, the Legislature is putting its seal of approval on the wrong approach to sex education. Condoms cannot protect against all sexually transmitted diseases. Abstinence is the only method that has never failed.

Let’s teach our teens the truth about sex – it was created by God for the purposes of pleasure and procreation to be enjoyed between a husband and wife. New York State teenagers need to be assured that contrary to what they see portrayed in the media, not everyone is having pre-marital or extra-marital relations.

Please contact your state senator and let them know your opposition to S1342, the Healthy Teens Act.