A bill that would have expanded options for teaching sex education in Utah schools has voted down and will not make it to the house floor.
The bill was designed to give parents an additional choice. They could choose no sex education for their child, sex education with a focus on abstinence, Or, the new option: curriculum that goes beyond abstinence.
The bill’s sponsor, Democratic Representative Brian King, said the purpose was very straightforward.
King said he hopes to "make it more likely that we will not have unintended pregnancies at early ages.”
Speaking during a House Education Committee meeting Monday night, King said that for students who don't receive guidance at home, current curriculum does not go far enough.
King spoke to a packed room. Utah residents lined up, eager to comment. Including many who felt the bill was a "slippery slope." And that it was just a matter of time before every student would be receiving this new curriculum.
Conversely, many spoke up in favor of the bill. Including Addi Worthington, a 16-year-old who attended the meeting with her mother.
“I’m in full support of this bill because I believe that my generation deserves information from the right sources," Worthington said.
As it came time to vote, Republican Representative Francis Gibson shared what many of his colleagues expressed.
Gibson thanked King for the work that went into the bill but explained, "It doesn’t matter what you put in this bill. No one in red was going to support it.”
The bill was voted down, 12 to 2.
