1) Should sex education be taught in schools? Or should it be up to children’s parents about how and whether to teach their kids about sex?
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g_fIpk2Cftto93qi9yaTmcJzi0jQ
“Republican Mitt Romney criticized his Democratic rivals Thursday for not rejecting the inclusion of gay-related issues in sex education for second-graders.
‘This is a subject that should be left to parents, not public school teachers,’ he said.”
2) Should sex education taught in schools advocate abstinence only until marriage or comprehensive discussion of sex, including discussion of contraceptives?
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070918/NEWS01/709180352/1006
“Teachers were split Monday over the scope of the school district’s new lessons on condoms as they met for training on the revised sex education curriculum. For the first time, Brevard Public Schools teachers are required to deliver 12 standardized sex education lessons to high school students that include information on the effectiveness of contraceptives.”
3) Should sex education be federally funded and what should the content of the programs include?
Under Title V, the Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families program distributes federal funds for sex education programs that agree to bar
discussion of contraception and to promote abstinence until marriage. Eleven states have rejected this funding, which was set to expire on September 30, 2007. Congress recently authorized another three-month extension to fund abstinence-only programs until at least the end of 2007.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/21/nyregion/21schools.html?em&ex=1190606400&en=d263281a0c9cdcb1&ei=5087%0A
“New York is rejecting millions of dollars in federal grants for abstinence-only sex education, the state health commissioner, Dr. Richard F. Daines, announced yesterday. The decision puts New York in line with at least 10 other states that have decided to forgo the federal money in recent years.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070930/NATION/109300045/-1/RSS_NATION_POLITICS
“Congress again has extended funding for a core abstinence-education program, sparking protests from sex-education advocates who want Democrats to pull the plug on such programs.”
4) How do religious faith and other morals affect beliefs about sex outside of marriage and sex education?
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070923/NEWS01/709230328
“Most conservative church leaders expect their youth to be sexually abstinent until marriage. Studies have shown most people are not, including those who have made pledges to stay virgins until marriage. Those who are sexually active often keep it hidden out of fear or embarrassment.”
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=666103
“When it comes to teaching sex education in middle school, oral sex and its dangers seem to be taboo topics as educators delicately balance student health and safety with community mores.”
5) Does comprehensive sex education encourage teen pregnancy? Does it promote sex before marriage?
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/news-articles-press/politics-policy-issues/teen-pregnancy-sex-education/teenage-pregnancy-6240.htm
“The most effective programs in the U.S. combine abstinence education with medically accurate information on a variety of sexuality-related issues, including contraception, safer sex, and the risks of unprotected intercourse and how to avoid them, as well as the development of communication, negotiation, and refusal skills.”
