Statement from Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains CEO & President Vicki Cowart:
“Planned
Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains is pleased to see the Comprehensive
Human Sexuality K-12 Education Act (HB-1081) pass through its second
reading in the Senate. It now faces a third reading.
“HB-1081 will strengthen existing state guidelines on comprehensive
sexual health instruction by specifically and unequivocally defining
core components that must be included in such curriculum; alleviating
the confusion that currently exists among many in the education
profession who implement sexual health standards. For example, the term
‘comprehensive,’ will be defined as will ‘age-appropriate’ and
‘culturally-sensitive.’ The latter will ensure that sexual health
information that aims to demonize gay or transgender youth will not be
permitted in our school system.
“The bill will also establish an innovative grant program which will
make it financially more feasible for schools to adopt sex ed into their
academic standards. Parents who choose to exclude their youth from such
instruction, have the ability to do so.
“Approximately 61 percent of Colorado high school students report being
sexually active by the time they graduate; seven percent admit to not
using any form of birth control. On average every 111 minutes, a baby is
born to a Colorado teen. We also know that parenting is the primary
reason adolescent women drop out of school—there is a direct link
between educational attainment and teen pregnancy.
“HB-1081 is imperative to our state’s youth and their well-being. We
applaud Rep. Crisanta Duran and Sen. Nancy Todd for their leadership and
support of this commonsense public health measure.”
