I am a teenager on the North Carolina Youth Leadership Council (NCYLC) in Chapel hill, NC. This is an exciting few weeks for us, because we are introducing the Healthy Youth Act, a bill that would put comprehensive sex education into schools in grades 7 through 9. Teens are going to be lobbying, attending a press conference, writing letters, talking to their schools, and making phone calls for this cause.  I met with a NC senator from Durham to discuss this issue today, and we are working on persuading more state representatives and senators to vote for the Healthy Youth Act. (Click on the link for more info)

NC has the 9th highest teen pregnancy rate, and last year 20,000 teen girls became pregnant. That’s one teen pregnancy every 26 minutes.  It is time that the people running our schools stop preaching abstinence, and start giving us good, accurate information about sexual health. 
Some of my friends will decide to wait to have sex until they are married, or until they are older.  Others are not going to wait, and are sexually active already. However, this is OUR decision to make.  It’s not up to our teachers, and it shouldn’t be up to some 60-year-old government official who makes education policy for North Carolina.  Teachers and the education department have a duty to empower us with information, and that is why we need to FIGHT for comprehensive sex ed. 

Please, join in! get involved! Write to the state legislature, call your senators, attend events, and write blogs.  We NEED everyone’s voice.  Our generation can come together, and we can make real change happen here in North Carolina.  Lets put comprehensive sex ed. back in schools, and pass the Healthy Youth Act. 

Tell your State representative to support the Healthy Youth Act!