Utah Passes Anti–Sex Ed Bill

Utah’s sex-ed classes are about to get a lot shorter. The state’s legislature passed a bill that would ban public schools from teaching contraception as a way of preventing pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. The bill also prohibits teaching about homosexuality. The bill now goes to Gov. Gary Herbert, who has yet to take a public stance on the issue. Thirty-seven states require information about abstinence to be taught, while 26 of those states require abstinence be taught as the most reliable way of preventing pregnancy or infection. Utah’s law would be the only one that prohibits discussion of birth control.