A bill to prohibit abortion activists from teaching sex ed to public school children passed an Alaska Senate committee on Tuesday.
The Alaska Senate Education Committee amended the bill, sponsored by state Sen. Mike Dunleavy, R-Wasilla, to address potential legal concerns before passing it in a 3-2 vote, the Juneau Empire reports. The bill now moves to a second committee for a vote.
Similar to measures passed in Missouri and Louisiana, Alaska Senate Bill 191 would prohibit school districts from contracting with pro-abortion groups like Planned Parenthood or accepting instruction or materials from them, according to the report. The bill also includes penalties for school employees and abortion group employees who knowingly violate the measure, the report states.
“Our schools are evolving into indoctrination centers. They’re evolving more away from the basic intent of education, which is to give kids skills and knowledge,” Dunleavy said, previously.
The amendment fixed a problem pointed out by Joshua Decker, executive director of the ACLU of Alaska, according to the report. Decker said the bill would prohibit people associated with pro-abortion groups from teaching any topic, even geometry or history.
“This bill unconstitutionally discriminates against people based on who they are, what they say, with whom they associate and how they spend their time in their private lives outside the schoolhouse gates,” Decker said.
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Attorney Mario Bird, who sits on the board of Alaska Right to Life, agreed; and the committee amended the bill to address the problem, the report states.
One of the committee “no” votes came from state Sen. Berta Gardner, D-Anchorage, who said she does not understand the problem with having Planned Parenthood teach children.
“If the issue we’re trying to address directly is abortion, one very good, very effective way to reduce abortion is to reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies, and information on about how things work is of great value in that,” she said.
Dunleavy emphasized that the bill only prevents pro-abortion groups from teaching sex ed; teachers and other groups still can provide that education.
Like Dunleavy, many parents across America have expressed concern about Planned Parenthood’s influence on young students. The group, which aborts more babies than any other group in the U.S., openly opposes abstinence education programs. Instead, the group lobbies to teach its own sex education programs in schools.
In 2014, LifeNews reported that Hawaii state Rep. Bob McDermott tried to get copies of Planned Parenthood’s sex education curriculum after hearing complaints from parents about what was being taught in Hawaii public schools. The state department of education denied his request, saying “the curriculum is sensitive in nature and can be misinterpreted.”
Some pro-lifers oppose the abortion group’s sex ed program because they say Planned Parenthood uses it to gain students’ trust and sell more abortions. Others oppose it because they say Planned Parenthood promotes risky sexual behavior to vulnerable young teens.
In 2014, Live Action release a video of Planned Parenthood employees telling girls that “stop,” really doesn’t always mean, “stop” and encouraging young teen females to participate in sado-masochistic sexual activities, including gagging, whipping, asphyxiation, shopping at sex stores and viewing pornography.
