NARAL Pro-Choice Washington : News : Press Releases

OLYMPIA, WA – The Washington State Senate passed the Healthy Youth Act (SB 5297) today by a vote of 30 –19. The companion bill, HB 1855 is sponsored by Representative Shay Schual-Berke (D-33) and is currently on the House Order of Consideration.

The Healthy Youth Act is quality assurance for sex education in public schools. The bill requires that any school district that chooses to teach sex education provide medically accurate and comprehensive information to students. Similar legislation has been approved by the House in past years; this is the first time it has been considered on the Senate floor. The bill passed after six amendments attempting to weaken the legislation, offered by Senators Rasmussen (D-2), Pflug (R-5), Zarelli (R-18), Kastama (D-25) and Roach (R-31), were defeated.

“After five years of work on this important issue, NARAL Pro-Choice Washington is very pleased that the Senate has finally acted to protect the health of Washington youth by approving the Healthy Youth Act,” said Karen Cooper, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Washington.

“While we all hope that our teens will remain abstinent, we must acknowledge that over half of all teens are having sex; teens need accurate, complete information about sexual health in order to avoid unwanted pregnancy and protect themselves against sexually transmitted diseases,” said Cooper. “Nearly all Washingtonians will become sexually active at some point in their lives and will need reliable information regarding contraception and sexual health in order to make good decisions throughout their lives”, Cooper added.

“Parents from across the state have contacted us with concerns that their kids have been misinformed in their school sex education classes,” said Cooper. “The need for this legislation is clear. We are delighted that the Senate has finally approved this bill, and NARAL Pro-Choice Washington will continue to advocate for this legislation until it is signed into law.”