On Wednesday, healthcare professionals and advocates spoke against SB209, a bill which would mandate sex ed programs only teach “sexual risk avoidance,” in addition to prohibiting the demonstration of contraceptives and the use of “sexually explicit” images.
Several individuals, including children, also praised the bill, arguing that traditional demonstrations of the use of condoms and other contraceptives were age inappropriate.
“This bill maintains abstinence-based instruction,” Representative Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, explained before the committee. “The term is now sexual risk avoidance and most importantly, in lines 202 to 209 regarding outside organizations’ teaching curriculum, school boards may not use the services of an organization that does not endorse sexual risk avoidance, or provides abortions or abortion referrals, abortion funding or advocacy, or any other support for abortions.”
When the bill was being discussed in the state Senate, the bill’s primary sponsor, Senator Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, stressed that it does not ban sexual education and “just sets clear, health-based standards.”
During the public hearing, opponents of the bill focused both on evidence that abstinence-based instruction is ineffective and criticized the bill as superfluous.
“As a nurse, I learned to evaluate the quality of medical research,” said Susan Stewart, a Huntsville-based nurse. “Many of the false claims about the benefits of abstinence-only, now rebranded as sexual risk avoidance, and the harms of comprehensive sex education originate from the American College of Pediatricians, a tiny fringe group with a religious agenda masquerading as a legitimate medical organization.”
“Overwhelming evidence shows that abstinence-only education does not reduce risky behavior by teenagers,” she continued. “It increases the rate of STIs … and promotes feelings of shame about sex.”
According to the CDC, Alabama was in the top 10 states by live births per 15 to 19 year old females in 2023, as well as by reported cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea per capita.
Research on abstinence only education, or sexual risk avoidance, has found mixed results. Recent studies and reviews of the literature largely suggest that the programs are ineffective at delaying individuals’ engagement in sexual behaviors.
Mary Elizabeth Marr, the CEO of Thrive Alabama, told legislators that “at Thrive, as well as across the state, we are seeing a growth in children—13 to 29 years of age—with HIV.”
“Why?” she asked. “Lack of awareness, feeling of invulnerability, lack of proper scientific education.” Marr then stated that the youngest patient at the clinic she leads is 16.
Additionally, Shante Wolfe, the policy director for WAWC Healthcare, a reproductive health clinic based in Tuscaloosa, alleged that “every minute this legislature spends debating bills like SB209 is time we’re not spending on the issues people back home are depending on us to fix.”
“Bills like this don’t create jobs. They don’t raise wages. And they don’t make our state more competitive,” Wolfe said. “For those reasons, I respectfully ask that you vote no on SB209.”
Becky Gerritson, the executive director of Alabama Eagle Forum, called comprehensive sex ed “promiscuity, not prevention,” and accused sex ed materials of being inappropriate for their target audience. Children that spoke in favor of the bill on Wednesday recounted feeling uncomfortable with specific sex ed lessons that they had participated in.
SB209 would also mandate teaching students about the “success sequence,” a set of life choices purported to be statistically shown with various measures of success. Some policy analysts, however, have argued that the success sequence is not really a sequence that individuals can follow and that the statistics underlying it are fatally flawed.
After the public hearing was concluded, the meeting adjourned. The committee will vote on whether or not to favorably recommend SB209 next week.
