News “Herpes on Its Eyes.” Oh My God. Pass the Sex-Ed Bill.
posted by on January 25 at 11:33 AM
The hearing room is packed here in Olympia this morning for HB 1297, a bill that would require school sex-ed classes to be “medically and scientifically accurate.” And “abstinence my not be taught at the exclusion of other materials and instruction on contraceptives and disease prevention.”
As a study released by a coalition of health-care groups last week found, Washington schools (nearly a third) do not allow schools to teach about condoms or contraception while teaching about abstinence in health/sex-ed classes.
Eight of the 30-plus sponsors are representatives from Seattle and/or the nearby Eastside suburbs. The Eastsiders are Judy Clibborn (D-41, east suburbs); Roger Goodman (D-45, Redmond, Woodinville); Rep. Geoff Simpson (D-47, east King County); and Larry Springer (D-45, Redmond, Woodinville). Thanks for taking Seattle’s suburbs out of the hands of the George Bush right, you guys.
Seattle-area sponsors include Jamie Pedersen (D-43, Capitol Hill, U-District, Wallingford); Bob Hasegawa (D-11, South Seattle); Rep. Jim McIntire (D-46, North Seattle); and Phyllis Kenney (D-46, North Seattle).
Three of the bill’s sponsors are Republicans.
Rep. Dave Upthegrove (D-33, SeaTac), the rep who’s also pushing the freedom of press bill for student journalists, is also a sponsor.
The bill’s primary sponsor, Rep. Shay Schual-Burke (D-33, SeaTac), opened the hearing saying: “Five years. Here we are again,” referring to the fact that the bill has been shot down every year by the right. “We do not allow teachers to teach that 2+2=3. And we should not tolerate teaching sexually inaccurate information—like ‘condoms don’t work.’”
The hearing just got interesting: Rep. Bill Hinkle (R-13, Ellensburg, Moses Lake) doesn’t like that sex ed is supposed to be “culturally sensitive,” as he derisively described the language that requires sex-ed curriculum to be “appropriate for students regardless of gender, race, disability status, or sexual orientation….”
Hinkle says sex ed should just be based on science. He wanted to know what “culturally sensitive” meant. Sponsor Burke said she would let one of the experts who are slated to testify address that.
I will report back on that.
Right now, a senior from Chehalis High School, Ashley Thomes, is testifying that her school only teaches about contraception to show how ineffective it is. And she added that a 16-year-old classmate, who didn’t know about contraception and STDs, got pregnant and discovered that her baby has herpes (on its eyes). The girl did not know she should get tested after having sex.
By all that is good in the world, I wish these assholes that oppose this, would just shut the fuck up, and let an important subject be properly taught based on medical information. Yeah and I also want a unicorn...
Hate. them. so. much. Must. restrain. fist. of. fury.
I graduated from WF West High School (Chehalis High School) in the early 80s and believe sex ed was far more comprehensive back then. No surprise that it's regressed considerably since.
The current principal, Linda Smith (lsmith@chehalis.k12.wa.us) is a real right-wing whack job.
She's the same "educator" who kicked out a speaker talking about AIDS because he acknowledged to the students that he is gay.
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=2537867&date=19970507&query=chehalis+gay
Let's hope the bill passes so the kids there and in other small conservative towns throughout the state have a fighting chance of being prepared for the real world.
Kitsap Represent! Represenatives. Appleton, Lantz,Haigh, and Seaquist are all sponsors. The Washington State Young Democrats are pushing for this bill.
Herpes on its eyes? Ewwwww.
You know that God has a special place in Hell for those who promote ignorance. And an even more "interesting" place for those who actively help.
Oddly enough they taught us accurate information when I was in school, in suburban Ohio of all places. Of course that was like 15 years ago...
Oh, gods.
A medical volunteer for this disease for nearly a decade, testimonies like Chehalis High School senior Ashley Thomes is why I became involved in the first place. Basically an inconvenience for most men, Herpes Simplexes are far more dangerous for women, especially expectant mothers. An unknown active lesion in the birth canal during delivery can have devastating effects upon the newborn. It strikes me as nothing less than criminal neglect on the part of school administrators designing these 'sex education' classes not to impart such basic scientific and medical information.
But it's "Ignorance Only" education!
If we don't tell teens about sex, they'll never think about it!
lol @ OA. True, so true.
re: "cultural sensitivity": I'm guessing they want to avoid making kids feel uncomfortable about the fact that their own wee-wees might not look like the ones pictured in textbooks, since, for example, male genital mutilation is still practiced in some cultures (like here in the United States, where something like 20% of parents still have part -- the most sensitive part -- of their sons' penises cut off at birth).
Most of the wee wees I saw in textbooks were cut.
All it would have taken was a Cesarian section to keep the baby from getting herpes. I'd also like to know what was the problem with her doctor. Didn't he/she suggest some STD tests, considering that the girl very likely had never used protection?
Forget the 20% figure; I had my numbers mixed up (it's 20% in Canada). In the United States, in the 1970's, the circumcision rate was about 90%. In the 1980's, it dropped to a little over 80%, and now it's about 60%. Interestingly, it's significantly higher in the Midwest, and significantly lower in the West.
Yuck.
Josh, I don't know why you're touting the fact that HB 1297 has three Republican sponsors, and congratulating Democrats for "taking Seattle’s suburbs out of the hands of the George Bush right" as though this was an improvement (on this issue). Last session's medically-accurate sex education bill, HB 1282, had seven Republican sponsors, more than twice as many. I know because I was one of them. I voted for the bill as well. Oemig repeatedly lied about this issue in his campaign, falsely claiming that I opposed medically-accurate sex education. Does this really make you proud?
Toby,
I hear you.
Hey everyone! Thanks so much for all your support!!! It is just crazy that teens are not being taught how to prevent an unintended pregnancy, but we are being taught how to do calculus equations. Calculus definately has its place in our lives, but I think medically accurate information about birth control methods possess a little bit more importance. Abstinence education is not the problem, it's Abstinence-Only that is the major problem.
I just don't understand why anyone would oppose giving teens medically and scientifically accurate information.
Thanks again for all the support for this bill, it really means a lot!
*my last name is actually Thomas, but no worries.
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