Youth and Adults Throughout Illinois Urge Governor Blagojevich and Congress: Invest Our Tax Doll...( CHICAGO April 15 /- As taxpayers ...),Health

CHICAGO, April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- As taxpayers scramble to file on time, hundreds of people across the state ask the Illinois Governor and Congressional delegation to make wiser investments in sexual health education. Nearly $8 million pours into Illinois annually from federal tax sources supporting abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. By federal law, abstinence-only programs restrict educators from mentioning contraceptives or condoms except to discuss their failure rates. Title V is the second largest of these programs, which also fail to cover puberty, sexual assault, anatomy, basics of reproduction, and many more topics recommended by medical and public health experts to be included in school-based education programs.

"At this time of fiscal crises at the state and federal levels, it is unconscionable that we would waste public money on programs that don't work, are riddled with inaccuracies, and fail to meet the educational needs of our youth," says Soo Ji Min, Executive Director of the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health.

In downtown Chicago, students, parents, and community leaders demonstrated their support for responsible investment in sexual health education. Outside the post office at Federal Plaza during the afternoon rush hour, advocates staged a demonstration with chants, performances, and speakers. Advocates also encouraged passersby to sign postcards to send to Congress to stop funding abstinence-only programs and to Governor Blagojevich to reject Title V funding for Illinois.

In places as far apart of Bloomington, Champaign, Chicago, Maywood, Quincy, Skokie and other areas of the state, people raised their voices and educated taxpayers about the need for public investment in responsible approaches to sexual health education. They are calling on schools to take a proactive and positive approach to the sexual health education of their students, parents to become active and engaged in the sexual health education of the
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