Alaska committee kills bill to keep Planned Parenthood out of sex-ed classes

On Tuesday, Alaska’s House Health and Social Services Committee voted 5-2 to kill SB 89, which would have forbidden public schools from contracting with abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood for sex education programs.

“Most parents think their kids are going to school to learn science, math, English, et cetera,” the bill’s lead sponsor, Republican Senator Mike Dunleavy, explained during Senate proceedings, where it had passed 12-7.

“Most parents don’t send their kids to school to be trained by abortion providers. They don’t want their children indoctrinated in public schools, and that’s what’s happening. This is a process of indoctrination.”

Democrats and abortion advocates criticized SB 89 as stigmatizing Planned Parenthood for no good reason, because current law already prohibited teaching abortion in class. Democrat Senate Minority Leader Berta Gardner complained, “We’re in this law banning the one agency that is there and available with fact-based materials for children.”

However, objections to Planned Parenthood influencing children revolve around more than abortion. Through a number of projects over the years the organization has actively encouraged minors to engage in sexual experimentation, Live Action’s SedEd investigation found a number of Planned Parenthood counselors advising teens to experiment with S&M and visit porn shops, and its “Healthy, Happy and Hot” booklet even declares that “You have the right to decide if, when, and how to disclose your HIV status” to sexual partners.