If you pay much attention to politics and legislation at the state level, you’ve probably already heard of The Healthy Youth Act. Just in case you’ve been distracted by the stimulus package, health care reform, Michelle Obama’s arms and other issues at the federal level, here’s a quick review…

The Healthy Youth Act would give parents a choice when it comes to the sex education their teens (grades 7-9) receive in public schools. Current state law mandates an abstinence until marriage curriculum be taught in school. Parents would still be able to choose the abstinence until marriage program if they want but would also be given the option of enrolling their child in an abstinence-based, comprehensive sex education program. An amendment to the bill added a third option of no sex education at all (which has always been an option) that will now be explicitly stated on the permission form.

So there you have it. The Healthy Youth Act offers parents three options at the beginning of the school year, they check the box of their choice, sign the form and off Johnny or Susie goes to the sex education class their parents deem most appropriate. Who could argue with such a common-sense, vanilla bill?

In spite of incredibly strong polling on this bill across the state, it turns out a few right-wing fringe groups are absolutely terrified by the idea of letting parents decide. The same groups whose rhetoric purports that sex education should take place in the home (we’ve always agreed that it should start there!) are fighting tooth and nail to leave sex education in the hands of politicians, not to the parents.

This begs the question: what are they afraid of? The only explanation: they’re afraid of the decisions that parents will make. In New Hanover County where dual-track sex education has been in place for a decade, parents choose the comprehensive sex education track 3 to 1. It turns out, most North Carolina parents don’t support denying teenagers information and education. I doubt that they’ll support or appreciate attempts to deny them this simple choice, either.

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