At the New York Law School:
Let’s Talk About Sex: A Discussion on the Constitutionality and Effectiveness of Government-Funded Abstinence-Only Education Programs
Thursday, February 5, 2009
12:50 – 1:50 p.m.
Room A400
Joan Bertin, Executive Director, National Coalition Against Censorship
Dr. John Santelli, Pediatrician, Adolescent Medicine Specialist, and Chairman, Heilbrunn Department of Population & Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Bonnie Scott Jones, Deputy Director, Domestic Legal Program, Center for Reproductive Rights
Moderated by: Elise Boddie, Associate Professor of Law, New York Law School
For over twenty years, the federal government has supported abstinence-only education programs and just last year it allocated over $200 million to this form of sex education. While the programs often replace more comprehensive sexuality education courses, they rarely provide information on even the most basic topics in human sexuality such as puberty, reproductive anatomy, and sexual health. As a result, many health experts have called for a different approach to sexuality education. Under the new administration and Congress, many groups are targeting the programs as a priority for change. The panelists will speak on matters including gender stereotyping in the programs, the suppression of information mandated by the program, the impact on LGBT students, and the human right to sexuality education.