Promoting Education for a Pro-Choice Nation

36th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade & 4th Anniversary of Blogging for Choice

What is your top pro-choice hope for President Obama and/or the new Congress?

I have a few pro-choice hopes that I’m harboring for the next four years; but the top priority I want to see Obama and the new Congress tackle is well-rounded sex education.  I want to see the abolition of abstinence-only sex education programs and the advent of well-rounded family planning and moral development courses concerning all aspects of reproductive health, relationships, and choice evaluation.

These programs would encompass fundamental and respectful treatment on issues such as:

• deciding to be sexually active and the nuances of the decisions,
• bearing responsibility for sexual choices you make (concerning regular health screenings, speaking to partners about protection, and easy communication about desired and undesired interaction),
• understanding the nature of instincts and how they influence decisionmaking,
• detailing alternatives to sexual intercourse (main example being masturbation and familiarization with one’s own body),
• understanding all aspects of rape, sexual assault, and molestation (including reporting, issues of consent and impairment, places and people to contact to avoid dangerous scenarios if possible, and counseling services)
• learning the significance of policy and legal decisions on reproductive health and relationships (reaching not only to abortion and Roe v. Wade, but to matters of adoption, marriage, LGBT rights, autonomy and personhood),
• teaching full anatomy lessons with special focus on sexual organs and their functions,
• supporting friends when making difficult decisions about their reproductive health,
• exploring available resources and materials within their area for counseling and personal edification, 
• discussing thoroughly all manners of contraception and birth control with clear outlining of positives and negatives,
• discussing thoroughly all resources for raising and taking care of children, including brainstorming ideas to support single parents, coupled parents, and adoptive parents, and
• analyzing the effects of the media on sexual development, self-respect, and autonomy.

This list is by no means comprehensive; nor is it meant to be squeezed into a semester-long or even year-long course.  I think a program like this should start at junior high school/middle school and continue through high school graduation.  If these types of courses receive funding and support for educators and teachers, it would continue the legacy of Roe v. Wade and it would underscore the importance of choice in our daily lives as we relate to each other.

I’d want them to use as much time as needed to make sure the fundamentals of this educational program are very strong, and to me, these course plans would stabilize a truly pro-choice, pro-autonomous policy towards generations of people. 

Learn more about participating in Blog for Choice Day here.