Wisconsin’s legislature recently passed a comprehensive sex education bill called the Healthy Youth Act (just like North Carolina, though the bills do differ slightly ). The bill requires school districts to begin teaching medically accurate information about birth control and sexually transmitted infections to students. The bill also allows parents an option to remove their kids from the comprehensive sex ed, should they so choose. Sounds fairly innocuous so far, right? After all… kids will begin to get the instruction they need to make smart decisions about sex and sexuality, and parents who, for whatever reason, are uncomfortable with the idea of their children receiving accurate medical information can opt out. Everybody’s happy, right?

Well… not quite. Meet Scott Southworth, DA for Juneau County, Wisconsin. In a letter to the five school districts in his county, Southworth threatened teachers who comply with the Healthy Youth Act with the possibility of arrest. In his opinion, the new curriculum helps to promote the sexual assault of children, and that, by teaching about contraception, teachers can be charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a possible felony.

Pro-life, anti-sex ed groups are, as one might expect, lauding Southworth for his “courage,” as well as for “exposing the consequences” of the new law. Except, of course, Southworth’s argument is ridiculous. Numerous individuals and groups, including a former state Supreme Court justice, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, and the (nonpartisan) Wisconsin Legislative Council have all said that Southworth’s threat makes no sense. Because, really… how can teachers be arrested for following something that is now state law?

But Southworth’s letter did achieve his desired result, at least temporarily. The school districts in his county have yet to implement the new curriculum and are trying to decide how to proceed in light of the threat. And so the students in Juneau County will continue to be deprived of important, possibly life-saving medical information. Scott Southworth is playing political football with these children’s lives. Which is not only irresponsible but also dangerous… and utterly disgraceful for a man who’s supposed to protect the citizens of his county.

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