Old Dominion House Bill No. 61


By: Morgan Broom

            The patron from YMCA- Arlington- Yorktown aims to make the teaching of contraceptives mandatory in sex education classes in public schools. During chambers, the speaker made the claim that if this curriculum is added then it will effectively “lower teen pregnancies rates” and make children “aware or their own bodies”. Andrew Garcia spoke to the bill on the chamber floor to agree with the goal of the bill and said that he believes that it will make children “more comfortable with their bodies”.
            In committee, Mr. Hall, an advisor from Faith Christian School, raised the question whether or not the parent of each child will have the opportunity to remove their child from this class if they desire. The patron responded that “yes parents have the opt out option” if they do not wish for their child to attend the class. The lobbyist of this bill provided statistics such as, 15% of Americans believe that only abstinence should be taught to children; this curriculum has been known to fail in the prevention of teen pregnancy, and even raises the rates of teen pregnancy.

            Youth Governor, Mark Johnson, responded to a question about this bill during the press conference. A reporter asked him whether or not he believed that the proper forms of contraceptives should be taught in schools. Governor Johnson replied that he agrees that they should be taught however does not think that schools should be able to hand out contraceptives to students because that would “encourage it rather than merely educate them on the topic”. He seemed in favor of passing this bill. 

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