November 6, 2009                                                       

State Assembly Passes Healthy Youth Act
NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin Applauds Critical Action to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and STDs
 
Madison, WI – Yesterday, the Wisconsin State Assembly voted in favor of passing the Healthy Youth Act. The Healthy Youth Act sets guidelines to ensure that all sexuality education programs taught in Wisconsin’s public schools are comprehensive, age appropriate, and medically accurate.
 
NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin applauds members of the Assembly for their support of the Healthy Youth Act.
 
“Wisconsin faces a serious public health crisis among our youth. Teen pregnancy is on the rise for the first time in 14 years, and we are seeing skyrocketing rates of sexually transmitted disease among teenagers in our state,” says Lisa Subeck, Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin. “By passing the Healthy Youth Act, the State Assembly has brought us one step closer to ending this crisis.”
 
In 2008, 45% of Wisconsin high school students self-reported being sexually active. Only 61% of those sexually active students reported using a condom during their last sexual encounter. Responsible sexuality education including information about both abstinence and contraception has been shown to delay sexual activity among teens and reduce the incidences of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection.
 
“The Healthy Youth Act is a common sense measure that recognizes the importance of arming our teens with the information they need to make responsible choices,” says Subeck. “NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin applauds members of the State Assembly who voted for this important step toward reducing the rates of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection among Wisconsin’s teens in our state.”