Sex ed bill proposes more than abstinence-only

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Some Florida teens believe drinking Mountain Dew or smoking marijuana will prevent pregnancy and that swallowing a capful of bleach will prevent HIV/AIDS. One reason those dangerous myths have spread is the state's reliance on abstinence-only sex education, say advocates of a bill to require a more comprehensive approach in Florida's schools.

The measure narrowly won approval from a Sentate committee Tuesday. Under the proposed legislation, schools would still be required to teach abstinence as the only sure way to prevent unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseasese, but they would have to teach more about sex. It would require, for example, teaching about condoms and other methods of birth control and disease prevention.

The bill's chances, though, remain slim with the annual 60-day legislative session nearly half over. The bill would have to clear three more committees before getting a Senate floor vote. The House version has yet to get a committee hearing.

"Young people are getting too little information too late,'' said Jenna Cawley, director of education for Planned Parenthood of Greater Orlando.

Cawley urged the bill's approval as she told the Senate Education Pre-kindergarten-12th Grade Committee about the Mountain Dew, marijuana and bleach myths.

Opponents, including anti-abortion activists, claimed the bill's requirements would result in more, not fewer teen pregnancies as supporters argue.

"The only healthy, 100-percent effective way to prevent disease and pregnancy is abstinence,'' said Alison Lambrechts, a field coordinator for Project Reality, which provides sexual, alcohol and drug abstinence materials for schools.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, said Florida's current approach isn't working because the state has the sixth-highest teen pregnancy rate nationally.

He cited a recent University of Florida study showing the state's sex education programs vary widely in content, get little class time and that some students miss out entirely. Half of the middle schools and a third of high schools teach abstinence-only courses, according to the Florida Department of Education.

The committee voted 4-3 for the bill (SB 848). One Republican, Senate President Pro Tempore Lisa Carlton of Osprey joined the panel's three Democrats in favor of the bill. The other three Republicans voted no.

Source: The Associated Press, www.nwfdailynews.com