history

"In 1995 Rep. Robin Hayes introduced a bill requiring that public schools in North Carolina teach an abstinence-only sex education curriculum. Despite heated debates, both the house and the senate passed the bill. As a result, since the 1996-97 academic year, over 100 out of the 117 school systems in North Carolina have taught abstinence-only until marriage in their healthy living/sex education courses. "

In today’s blog I will cover the history of Abstinence only sex education in North Carolina. The debate began in the 1960’s, when sex education was suggested to be taught in public schools. In the early 90’s the republican sweep of congress and conservatives shift in to power, begin the movement from sex education to instilling family values. In 1996 Congress passed section 510 of the Social Security Act guaranteeing $50 million annually over for abstinence-only education grants to the states. In the current budget year proposed by President Bush, abstinence-only education has three times the amount of funding it once had in 2001. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 35% of school systems in the United States have abstinence only programs. Then North Carolina followed suit, with the passing of Robin Hayes bill. His goal was to “put a moral compass back in the schools and get teens past these mixed messages and answer the question of teenage pregnancy.” In summary the programs enacted are to show the problems of all other forms of contraceptives, and that abstinence id the only fool proof method to prevent pregnancy and STD’s.

http://www.siecus.org.