Davis Co. Chair Rob Miller on proposed changes to Utah's sex ed program

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In a June 23, 2009, Clipper article by Shalyn Roberts, “State sex ed curriculum may get more comprehensive,” we learned of testimony to the Health and Human Services Interim Committee about revising Utah’s sex education curriculum to include the ability for teachers to discuss contraception without fearing reprimand.

Rep. Lynn Hemingway, D-Salt Lake City, said he would sponsor a bill patterned after a recently revised statute in North Carolina and invited parents to voice their opinion about the change in curriculum.

The reason to change the curriculum is due to the dramatic increase in sexually transmitted infections and diseases in Utah teens, and increase in teen pregnancies, during the past five to seven years.

According to the Davis County Health Department nearly 700 17-year olds per 100,000 contracted chlamydia and/or gonorrhea from 2004-08. The rates are rising. Lewis Garrett, director of the Davis County Health Department said, “The data we collect on sexually transmitted disease is what it is; the debate is now on what we do with that data.”

Proponents are calling this “a health issue” to keep the debate focused on the science, but it is also a moral issue.

We know that freedom and responsibility go hand in hand. Most Democrats believe that government should not intrude on a human being’s most personal, private, and sometimes painful decisions about when they should or should not start a family, and also believe that people still need to act responsibly and should not engage in unprotected sex, or use abortion as birth control.

Abstinence from pre-marital sex is the best solution for preventing infection, disease and unwanted pregnancies. The reality is stated by Director Garrett: “We’ve been teaching abstinence for many years, and that is not entirely working.” Additional education is clearly appropriate.

This is a life and death issue where parents must engage. Our school districts should continue their policy to send home a parental permission form for students to attend sex-education classes not just for permission, but as a reminder to parents of their duty to teach their own values on sex and sexuality. It is not easy. If you choose to leave all education in the classroom because of the difficulty in discussing the issue, let’s make sure that our children have the ability to get a complete education.

Freedom and responsibility go hand in hand. The better informed we are the better the chance that we make the right choices.

We agree that government should not intrude on personal or moral decisions. But it does have a role in educating the public about health issues, just like H1N1 (swine) flu. It is good that our legislators are looking at ways to better combat the realities of educating the public about the consequences of unprotected sexual activity.

True leaders want to instill in our children the values and knowledge to make responsible decisions.

True leaders believe in giving teenagers and adults medically accurate, age-appropriate information and providing moral guidance before they have the resources and responsibility to be good parents.

True leaders won’t use this issue to anger and divide us, because leadership is about stewardship, and working together to prevent disease and unwanted pregnancy should be a goal we can all work towards.