Commentary: Comprehensive sex education key to empowering youth in health decisions

Cyreena Boston Ashby

Boston Ashby is the CEO of Pacific Northwest Women, Inc. and a former public health official. She lives in Portland.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of the constitutional right to abortion will have devastating effects in many states, and the consequences continue to be felt across the United States week after week. Currently, Oregon remains a haven for anyone seeking a safe, legal abortion, regardless of income, minority status, gender identity, immigration status, or health insurance coverage—a striking contrast to more than half of the states in the country that prohibit it. Or the process is too limited.

But the polarizing abortion debate offers Oregonians a key opportunity to refocus on a related issue: comprehensive sex education. Oregon children deserve an education that empowers them with the sexual development knowledge and understanding they need to make informed, mature decisions in the future. This is an issue that people on both sides of the abortion debate can support.

Mandatory comprehensive sexuality education in Oregon consists of an age-appropriate curriculum that equips youth with knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values ​​that enable them to mature sexually, socially, and medically, regardless of the youth’s choice to have sex or not. .

While parents and guardians can help educate their children, Oregon schools are required to teach consent through a curriculum that promotes abstinence, recognizes diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions, and perhaps most importantly, consent education.

The benefits of this framework are far-reaching, as evidenced by the recent Student Health Survey. This The survey informs state officials about a variety of factors that contribute to the well-being of Oregon students, from physical health to sexual health and beyond, and is administered to sixth, eighth and 11th grade students. Questions vary from level to level, but generally include: Data on sexual health, housing and food security, home safety, exposure and prevalence of physical violence by peers or adults, suicidal ideation, and substance abuse or impaired driving will provide the state with integrated public health information for our young population, and He realizes that sex and sex education are not the same thing. It is about the health of the whole person.

Moreover, the SThe survey shows that comprehensive sexuality education can address many public health concerns. Because of this lesson, Oregon THumans are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to understand the emotional, physical and social aspects of sexuality and healthy relationships, and ultimately to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and infections, pregnancies and pregnancies. More dangerous behavior and dangerous relationships.

Unfortunately, only some school districts, such as Portland Public Schools, offer a comprehensive sex education curriculum. Some districts are choosing to teach an abstinence-only curriculum and do not fully implement the guidelines on sex education and treatment classes. Across Oregon, all young people need help developing healthy, consensual relationships and planning for unwanted pregnancies. The Department of Education, in order to bring non-compliant districts into compliance, must ensure that all Oregon school districts implement comprehensive sex education as required by state law.

But we also have a lot to do.

• · We need to ask for funding for school-based health centers where contraception and sexually transmitted diseases and sexually transmitted infections are unabashedly available.
• · Community members should discuss the positive effects of sexuality education with school superintendents, school boards, and site-based decision makers.
• Schools should provide a sex education curriculum for parents and guardians. We must respect the legal right of parents and guardians to encourage their students to opt out of sex education guidelines, but to educate themselves on the modern relevance of this information. Although they promote abstinence as the primary method of sexual instruction, such materials help them become more informed authorities on their children’s sexual development.
• · The Oregon Health Authority must effectively manage the distribution of student health research across the state. This survey should be translated and promoted into multiple languages ​​to allow all demographics, especially those with deep inequities (eg, rural residents, low-income families, English speakers, BIPOC youth) to share their health needs. Benefiting from the informative effects of sexuality education.

The abortion debate continues to be polarized and fluid, so we must reach beyond heated debate and ensure that the future of young adults in Oregon is safe and healthy. We have the opportunity to be an example of a country that prepares for the future through healthy sexuality and preventive health care. Oregonians must continue to fight to continue to be a beacon of light for education, safety, equity and informed medical rights. The future of young Oregonians depends on it.