In May, the country learned of a leaked Supreme Court document suggesting the potential for Roe v. Wade to be overturned. [1] We anticipate a final decision very soon. As an organization that works on sexual health, the Alabama Campaign for Adolescent Sexual Health reaffirms the necessity of comprehensive sexual health education for adolescents, now more than ever before.
Comprehensive sexual health education refers to content and programs that are evidence-informed and medically accurate, age and developmentally appropriate, inclusive, and trauma-informed. Topics include effective communication skills, consent and setting boundaries, puberty, and menstruation, as well as prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unplanned pregnancy through the delay of sexual debut and safer sex practices, such as the use of condoms and contraception. Also critical to the implementation of effective sexual health education are highly trained sexual health educators. [2] The Alabama Campaign has been training sexual health educators for over 20 years in Alabama and across the country.
Comprehensive sexual health education has been shown to have positive impacts on adverse sexual health outcomes, including decreasing number of sexual partners, increasing the age of sexual debut, and increasing the use of condoms, with the outcomes of decreasing the spread of STIs and unplanned pregnancy. [3]
The Supreme Court’s leaked document has led some politicians across the United States to talk about making some or all birth control options illegal . [4, 5] Birth control use is a personal choice and is not equivalent to abortion. We are concerned that the overturn of Roe v. Wade may weaken other legal cases that make birth control accessible for all people.
Regardless of the final decision by the Supreme Court, the Alabama Campaign remains ready to provide training, resources, and advocacy for comprehensive sexual health education in Alabama.
- https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/02/supreme-court-abortion-draft-opinion-00029473
- https://advocatesforyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/storage/advfy/documents/fssexcur.pdf
- https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2016/11/comprehensive-sexuality-education
- https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/birth-control-banned-roe-v-wade-overturned-legal-experts-warn-rcna28253
- https://www.salon.com/2022/05/21/ban-all-birth-control-says-endorsed-candidate_partner/
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