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Across the Nation, Parents and Teens are Taking Action

By Rachel Hart, Reproductive Freedom Project at 2:01pm
Greetings from the Take Issue, Take Charge guest bloggers! We are writing from the ACLU of Pennsylvania's Clara Bell Duvall Reproductive Freedom Project.

Marshall Bright is an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania who was instrumental in raising awareness of the problems with abstinence-only education in

Roe at 35

By Rachel Hart, Reproductive Freedom Project at 2:52pm
Today marks the 35th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark abortion rights decision Roe v. Wade. In honor of the anniversary, the ACLU put together a video featuring interviews with ACLU staff from across the organization concerning the role of reproductive freedom in ensuring the full-range of civil liberties. If you

Arizona makes 16!

By Rachel Hart, Reproductive Freedom Project at 5:53pm
We just got word that the governor of Arizona announced today that she has turned down federal funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs! Arizona is now the 16th state that no longer accepts funds for these programs.

More information to come...

***UPDATE***

Here are some snippets from the ACLU of Arizona's press release: <

Sex Ed News Round Up: California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, and South Carolina

By Rachel Hart, Reproductive Freedom Project at 4:09pm
For 11 years, students in California's San Ysidro School District have gone without sex education despite the county's high teen pregnancy rate. School officials say that their students aren't getting lessons on how to protect against unintended pregnancy and STDs "because there are so many [other] things that need to be presented." The school board will ta

Opinion, Opinions, Opinions.

By Rachel Hart, Reproductive Freedom Project at 2:00pm
So far, 2008 has been chock-full of opinion pieces on abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, no doubt driven by the perfect storm of media coverage: Jamie-Lynn's pregnancy in the tabloids, Juno, a new movie dealing with teen pregnancy, in theaters, and news coverage of 15 states that no longer accept federa

A sex ed resolution for 2008

By Rachel Hart, Reproductive Freedom Project at 1:59pm
With the New Year upon us, it seems only right to examine the state of sex education in the U.S. Launched in June 2005, this blog has witnessed a great deal of change. Back then, only a handful of states had rejected federal funds for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs -- in 2008 Read More»

States continue to turn down federal ab-only dollars

By Rachel Hart, Reproductive Freedom Project at 6:26pm
The Washington Post reported today that at least 14 states have turned down federal funds to teach abstinence-only-until-marriage programs:

The number of states refusing federal money for "abstinence-only" sex education programs jumped sharply in the past year as evidence mounte

Blog Series on Reproductive Rights in Prison

By Rachel Hart, Reproductive Freedom Project at 2:57pm
RH Reality Check ran a great series last week on reproductive rights in prison, an issue which the ACLU has done quite a bit of work.

The blog postings ranged from sexual abuse in prison to moth

The New York Times: Sex, Science and Savings

By Rachel Hart, Reproductive Freedom Project at 12:52pm
Yesterday, The New York Times ran a great editorial calling on Congress to stop funding abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. Excerpts are below:

President Bush's veto of Congress's main social spending bill has Democratic leaders looking

No More Ab-only Funding

By Rachel Hart, Reproductive Freedom Project at 1:00pm
RH Reality Check's blog posted a letter yesterday that 10 prominent researchers in the field of adolescent sexual and reproductive health sent to Representative Nancy Pelosi and Senator Harry Reid expressing concern over the recent increa
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