Sex Education

January 29, 2009, Sun Sentinel/Orlando Sentinel

A South Florida senator wants Florida public schools to ditch the wait-until-marriage message that's long been the basis of many sex-education classes.

Instead, state Sen. Ted Deutch, D- Delray Beach, has filed legislation that would require schools to teach students about condoms and other contraceptive methods starting in the sixth grade.

Sun-Sentinel, January 14, 2009

ATLANTA - Sexually spread diseases, for years on the decline, are on the rise, with reported chlamydia cases setting a record, government health officials said Tuesday.

Orlando Sentinel, January 12, 2009

You can't open the newspaper without seeing that Florida's state budget is being slashed. Vital programs that provide education for our youth and health care to our most vulnerable are being cut in this difficult economic climate.

Many of these cuts will be penny-wise, but pound foolish -- costing the state more in the long-term. What is even more unconscionable is that ineffective programs, such as the Title V abstinence-only program and so-called "crisis pregnancy centers," are still being funded.

Miami Herald, January 8, 2009

Re: the Jan. 7 story U.S. teen birth rates end 14-year drop:

Amid the news that teen birth rates rose after a 14-year decline, Planned Parenthood again calls on elected officials to support the Healthy Teens Act.

Florida Times-Union, January 5, 2009

Abstinence-only programs are ineffective and put our youth at risk.

A study of some of the strongest abstinence-only programs by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health provided further evidence.

Lakeland Ledger, December 28, 2008

Teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are just as likely to have premarital sex as those who do not promise abstinence and are significantly less likely to use condoms and other forms of birth control when they do, according to a study released today.

TCPalm, December 23, 2008

Over the past few weeks there have been letters with varying views on abortion. While this is a very emotional issue for some, there is common ground for both sides of the debate to agree upon: prevention.

The real problem is that we have a preventable public health problem in this country. It is estimated that 750,000 American teens will become pregnant this year, and millions more will contract a sexually transmitted infection. Florida alone has the sixth-highest teen pregnancy rate, and in 2004, teen pregnancy cost Florida taxpayers almost $500 million.

Central Florida Future, December 5, 2008

UCF student group VOX: Voices for Planned Parenthood wants to take the financial factor out of fighting cervical cancer.

"College students need information and access to affordable health care services in order to make healthy, lifelong decisions," VOX President Cari Cruz said in a press release. "We are working to ensure that the cost of this vaccine doesn't stand in the way of the responsible young women who want to protect themselves from cancer."