Home : Reproductive Freedom : Sex Education

Read the comic >>

Stop the Abstinence-Only Charade!
Federally funded abstinence-only-until-marriage programs are ineffective, medically inaccurate, and some even use taxpayer dollars to promote religion. The ACLU is calling for an end to federal funding. Ask President Obama to stop funding the abstinence-only-until-marriage experiment and to start funding real sex ed!
> NEWS: “Responsible Education About Life Act” Provides Needed Funding For Comprehensive Sex Ed (3/17/2009)
> BLOG: End Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Funding (3/13/09)
FACT SHEETS
> What the Research Shows: Government-Funded Abstinence-Only Programs Don’t Make the Grade
> Helping Teens Make Healthy and Responsible Decisions about Sex

Victory in Pittsburgh
After two years of organizing, parents and teens in Pittsburgh are celebrating a victory for comprehensive sexuality education.
> BLOG: Madeline Chandler: Student Activism Leads to Comprehensive Sex Education in Pittsburgh Schools (3/04/09)
> BLOG: Victory for Sex Ed: An Organizer’s View (2/27/09)
>BLOG: Win One for Sexuality Education (2/26/09)
> Urge President Obama to make this a nationwide victory. Click here for our ACLU Action Alert.

President’s Budget Defunds Failed Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs (05/08/2009)
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration, in its 2010 budget released yesterday, took the positive step of defunding failed abstinence-only-until-marriage programs which, for more than a decade, have censored young people’s access to basic, medically accurate and age-appropriate information.

“Responsible Education About Life Act” Provides Needed Funding For Comprehensive Sex Ed (03/17/2009)
WASHINGTON – Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) today introduced the Responsible Education About Life (REAL) Act, a bill that designates federal funds for age-appropriate and medically accurate information to help young people make informed decisions about their relationships and sexual behavior. Research has shown that comprehensive sex education programs help reduce risk behaviors by delaying the onset of sexual intercourse, reducing the number of sexual partners and increasing condom or contraceptive use among teens.

Omnibus Appropriations Bill Advances Reproductive Health Care (03/11/2009)
WASHINGTON –Within 24 hours, the United States Senate passed and President Obama signed into law an appropriations bill that, as part of funding for the federal government for fiscal year 2009, advances reproductive health care for women and reduces funding for abstinence-only programs.

ACLU Urges Congress to Do the Right Thing for Young Americans (06/24/2008)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union urges both the Senate and House of Representatives to act in the best interest of young people and eliminate funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. It will be a critical week as two of the largest federal funding streams for such programs are slated for consideration. In the Senate, the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies marked up the FY09 appropriations bill today, including an allocation for the Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) program; the Senate Appropriations Committee will meet on Thursday, June 26th. In the House, the Appropriations Committee will also meet this Thursday to ratify the subcommittee recommendations, which last week included flat-funding for CBAE.

Subcommittee Votes to Continue Funding Disproven Abstinence-Only Programs (06/19/2008)
Washington, DC – The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies today voted to continue funding the Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) program, an abstinence-only-until-marriage funding stream that supports programs that include inaccurate and misleading information.

How public health professionals are getting involved to ensure that teens have access to the information they need to make healthy and responsible decisions (11/12/2007)

ACLU of Oregon Reply Letter to Oregon Department of Human Services (07/23/2007)

Letter to ACLU from Department of Health and Human Services - July 12, 2007 (07/23/2007)

Letter to ACLU of Oregon from Oregon Department of Human Services - May 18, 2007 (07/23/2007)

Letter to ACLU of Oregon from Department of Health and Human Services - July 12, 2007 (07/23/2007)

Letter to DHS Re: Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Funding for Lane Pregnancy Support Center (05/03/2007)

ACLU Letter to President Obama Urging the Elimination of Funding for Abstinence-Only Programs in the 2010 Budget (03/05/2009)
On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a non-partisan public interest organization dedicated to protecting the constitutional rights of individuals, and its hundreds of thousands of members, activists, and 53 affiliates nationwide, we urge you to end, once and for all, the misguided efforts of the past decade to politicize and censor young people’s access to basic, medically accurate and age-appropriate information that could protect their health. In that vein, we ask that you eliminate funding for abstinenceonly- until-marriage programs in your fiscal year 2010 budget recommendation expected in April 2009.

Letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt Concerning Misuse of Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Funds (01/09/2009)

ACLU Comments to Community-Based Abstinence Education Performance Progress Report (11/24/2008)

ACLU Written Statement For a Hearing on Domestic Abstinence-Only Programs: Assessing the Evidence (04/23/2008)

Emergency Contraception Education Act Coalition Letter (09/07/2007)

Responsible Spending: Real Sex Ed for Real Lives (02/18/2005)

Responsible Spending: Real Sex Ed for Real Lives (02/18/2005)

Abstinence-Only Education in the Courts (12/02/2003)
From SIECUS Report, volume 31, number 6 (Fall 2003)

Protecting Teen Health: Comprehensive Sexuality Education and Condom Availability Programs in the Public Schools (04/09/1998)
Promoting Reproductive Freedom for Teenagers

Helping Teens Make Healthy and Responsible Decisions about Sex (06/16/2008)
Promoting Reproductive Freeedom for Teenagers

What the Research Shows: Government-Funded Abstinence-Only Programs Don’t Make the Grade (06/12/2008)
Evidence shows that sexuality education that stresses the importance of waiting to have sex while providing accurate, age-appropriate, and complete information about how to use contraceptives effectively to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can help teens make healthy and responsible life decisions.

Campaigns to Undermine Sexuality Education in the Public Schools (04/01/1998)
Promoting Reproductive Freedom for Teenagers

School-Based Condom Availability Programs (04/01/1998)
Promoting Reproductive Freedom for Teenagers