The bill is supported by Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, NOW, and numerous other Illinois pro-abortion organizations. The bill will be taken up in the fall veto session, which begins on October 25. HB 3027 has already been passed by the Illinois Senate.
HB 3027 mandates that every public school teaching sex education in grades 6 – 12 must teach comprehensive sex education. Lake County Right to Life has numerous major problems with this bill, including:
It mandates curriculum promoting abortion, stating that it is legal, safe, and parents don't have to know about it.
It calls for "medically accurate" sex education, but the curriculum misinforms students by telling them that "morning after pills" don't cause abortion.
It will force abstinence programs out of the public schools by taking away local control and mandating the teaching of contraception and condoms. Public schools in Illinois already have the ability to teach comprehensive sex education if they wish.
It does not follow the Centers for Disease Control recommendations that a) abstinence be prioritized and b) school health education policies and programs be locally determined and consistent with community values. Many communities in Illinois have strong Judeo-Christian value systems and would have their teachings violated by the requirement that contraception be taught to children.
It promotes policies proven to be ineffective in California school programs. Since 1992, California has taught only comprehensive sex education, while Illinois has allowed abstinence education. This has resulted in California having a much higher teen pregnancy rate than Illinois (96 teens per thousand versus 60 teens per thousand).
Illinois will not be stepping forward, but backward in the requirement to teach comprehensive sex education in Illinois public schools. Why should Illinois legislators adopt the failed policies of California and call it progress?
We urge concerned citizens to contact their state representatives and ask them to vote No on HB 3027.
Click here to find the contact information for your representative.
