Think you're a fairly liberal parent? Think again. Would you arm your 12-year-old with condoms and send them on their way?
Well, a Massachusetts school has done just that, in the hopes of promoting safe sex, preventing teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
The Springfield School Committee voted 5-1 Thursday in favour of the "Comprehensive Reproductive Health Policy." (In 2009 Springfield had the fourth highest teen pregnancy rate in the state.)
The proposal requires a second vote of approval before it passes, and parents will have the choice to opt out if they don't want their children to participate. (I can just image how that one would go down. "...but, mom, everyone else is having sex!")
Surprisingly, just one committee member admitted he wasn't comfortable with providing condoms to 12-year-olds when the legal age of consent in Massachusetts is 16.
In Utah, sex ed is, uh, a little different. Proposed legislation there would prohibit discussion of both contraception and homosexuality in class altogether. In favour of birds and bees, kids would hear the abstinence talk, or none at all.
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