Responsible Education About Life Act
The Responsible Education About Life Act would provide $206 million per year in grants to states for the purpose of conducting comprehensive sexuality education programs.
What is Comprehensive Sexuality Education?
Comprehensive sexuality education is a program that is age-appropriate and medically accurate; does not teach or promote religion; teaches that abstinence is the only sure way to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases; stresses the value of abstinence without ignoring those young people who have had sexual intercourse; provides comprehensive information about the health benefits and side effects of all contraceptives and barrier methods as they relate to both pregnancy prevention and risk reduction for STDs, including HIV/AIDS; encourages family communication about sexuality; teaches negotiation skills for young people; and teaches young people how alcohol and drug use can affect responsible decision-making.
Background
No federal funding stream currently exists for comprehensive sexuality education. However, there are three separate federal funding streams for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs totaling almost $168 million in fiscal year 2005 (Community Based Abstinence Education program; Title V Section 510(b) of the Social Security Act, authorized with the 1996 Welfare Reform Law; and the Adolescent Family Life Act (Title XX of the Public Health Service Act)). President Bush requested $206 million for these programs in fiscal year 2006.
Under the federal definition of abstinence education, programs accepting these funds are prohibited from discussing contraceptives except in the context of failure rates.
Why the REAL Act is Needed
Comprehensive sexuality education — medically accurate, age-appropriate education that includes information about both contraception and abstinence — has been found to be effective in delaying the onset of sexual intercourse, reducing the number of sexual partners and increasing contraception and condom use.1 No such findings exist for federally funded abstinence-only-until-marriage programs.
Public Opinion
A vast majority of adults support comprehensive sexuality education and believe young people should be given information about how to protect themselves from unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. In fact, only 10 percent of the voting public says they want abstinence-only curricula in our schools.2
This fact sheet was produced by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, and is used with their permission.
What is the Current Status of the Bills?
Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., and Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., introduced the REAL Act in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on March 22, 2007.
In the 109th Congress, the measure was introduced in the Senate by Lautenberg and had 11 co-sponsors. The House bill was introduced by Lee and had 136 co-sponsors.
For more information, please contact legislation@hrc.org.
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1. D. Kirby, National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy,No Easy Answers, 1997; D. Kirby, National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, Emerging Answers: Research Findings on Programs to Reduce Teen Pregnancy, 2001; and D. Satcher, The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior, June 2001.
2. Othmer Institute of Planned Parenthood of New York City, Mobilizing Support for Sex Education: New Messages and Techniques, 2002.
Last Updated: Saturday, August 25, 2007