II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 972 

To provide for the reduction of adolescent pregnancy, HIV rates, and other 

sexually transmitted diseases, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 22, 2007 

Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. SCHUMER, 

Mrs. BOXER, Mr. HARKIN, and Mr. BROWN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide for the reduction of adolescent pregnancy, HIV 

rates, and other sexually transmitted diseases, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Responsible Education 

5 About Life Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) The American Medical Association 

9 (‘‘AMA’’), the American Nurses Association 


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1 (‘‘ANA’’), the American Academy of Pediatrics 

2 (‘‘AAP’’), the American College of Obstetricians and 

3 Gynecologists (‘‘ACOG’’), the American Public 

4 Health Association (‘‘APHA’’), and the Society of 

5 Adolescent Medicine (‘‘SAM’’) support responsible 

6 sexuality education that includes information about 

7 both abstinence and contraception. 

8 (2) Recent scientific reports by the Institute of 

9 Medicine, the American Medical Association, and the 

10 Office on National AIDS Policy stress the need for 

11 sexuality education that includes messages about ab12 stinence and provides young people with information 

13 about contraception for the prevention of teen preg14 nancy, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted 

15 diseases (‘‘STDs’’). 

16 (3) Government-funded abstinence-only-until17 marriage programs are precluded from discussing 

18 contraception except to talk about failure rates. An 

19 October 2006 report from the Government Account20 ability Office concluded that the current administra21 tion of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs by 

22 the Department of Health and Human Services 

23 (‘‘HHS’’) fails to require medical accuracy of the 

24 vast majority of funded programs and that no reg25 ular monitoring of medical accuracy is being carried 


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1 out by HHS. The Government Accountability Office 

2 also reported on the Department’s total lack of ap3 propriate and customary measurements to determine 

4 if funded programs are effective. In addition, a sepa5 rate letter from the Government Accountability Of6 fice in October 2006 to the Secretary of Health and 

7 Human Services Michael Leavitt contained a legal 

8 finding that the Department was in violation of Fed9 eral law, in particular section 317P(c)(2) of the 

10 Public Health Services Act (42 U.S.C. 247b– 

11 17(c)(2)), for not requiring abstinence-only-until12 marriage programs to provide full and medically ac13 curate information about the effectiveness of 

14 condoms. The Department has argued that the ab15 stinence-only-until-marriage programs are exempt 

16 from the law; however, the Government Account17 ability Office disagrees. 

18 (4) A 2006 statement from the American Pub19 lic Health Association (‘‘APHA’’) ‘‘recognizes the 

20 importance of abstinence education, but only as part 

21 of a comprehensive sexuality education pro22 g ram. . . . APHA calls for repealing current federal 

23 funding for abstinence-only programs and replacing 

24 it with funding for a new Federal program to pro25 mote comprehensive sexuality education, combining 


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1 information about abstinence with age-appropriate 

2 sexuality education.’’. 

3 (5) The Society for Adolescent Medicine 

4 (‘‘SAM’’) in a 2006 position paper found the fol5 lowing: ‘‘Efforts to promote abstinence should be 

6 provided within health education programs that pro7 vide adolescents with complete and accurate infor8 mation about sexual health, including information 

9 about concepts of healthy sexuality, sexual orienta10 tion and tolerance, personal responsibility, risks of 

11 HIV and other STIs and unwanted pregnancy, ac12 cess to reproductive health care, and benefits and 

13 risks of condoms and other contraceptive meth14 ods. . . . Current funding for abstinence-only pro15 grams should be replaced with funding for programs 

16 that offer comprehensive, medically accurate sexu17 ality education’’. 

18 (6) Research shows that teenagers who receive 

19 sexuality education that includes discussion of con20 traception are more likely than those who receive ab21 stinence-only messages to delay sexual activity and 

22 to use contraceptives when they do become sexually 

23 active. 

24 (7) Comprehensive sexuality education pro25 grams respect the diversity of values and beliefs repVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:15 Mar 27, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S972.IS S972

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1 resented in the community and will complement and 

2 augment the sexuality education children receive 

3 from their families. 

4 (8) The median age of puberty is 13 years and 

5 the average age of marriage is over 26 years old. 

6 American teens need access to full, complete, and 

7 medically and factually accurate information regard8 ing sexuality, including contraception, STD/HIV 

9 prevention, and abstinence. 

10 (9) Although teen pregnancy rates are decreas11 ing, the United States has the highest teen preg12 nancy rate in the industrialized world with between 

13 750,000 and 850,000 teen pregnancies each year. 

14 Between 75 and 90 percent of teen pregnancies 

15 among 15- to 19-year olds are unintended. 

16 (10) A November 2006 study of declining preg17 nancy rates among teens concluded that the reduc18 tion in teen pregnancy between 1995 and 2002 is 

19 primarily the result of increased use of contracep20 tives. As such, it is critically important that teens 

21 receive accurate, unbiased information about contra22 ception. 

23 (11) More than eight out of ten Americans be24 lieve that young people should have information 

25 about abstinence and protecting themselves from unVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:15 Mar 27, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S972.IS S972

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1 planned pregnancies and sexually transmitted dis2 eases. 

3 (12) The United States has the highest rate of 

4 infection with sexually transmitted diseases of any 

5 industrialized country. In 2005, there were approxi6 mately 19,000,000 new cases of sexually transmitted 

7 diseases, almost half of them occurring in young 

8 people ages 15 to 24. According to the Centers for 

9 Disease Control and Prevention, these sexually 

10 transmitted diseases impose a tremendous economic 

11 burden with direct medical costs as high as 

12 $14,100,000,000 per year. 

13 (13) Each year, teens in the United States con14 tract an estimated 9.1 million sexually transmitted 

15 infections. Each year, one in four sexually active 

16 teens contracts a sexually transmitted disease. 

17 (14) Nearly half of the 40,000 annual new 

18 cases of HIV infections in the United States occur 

19 in youth ages 13 through 24. Approximately 50 

20 young people a day, an average of two young people 

21 every hour of every day, are infected with HIV in 

22 the United States. 

23 (15) African-American and Latino youth have 

24 been disproportionately affected by the HIV/AIDS 

25 epidemic. Although African-American adolescents 


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1 ages 13 through 19 represent only 15 percent of the 

2 adolescent population in the United States, they ac3 counted for 73 percent of new AIDS cases reported 

4 among teens in 2004. Although Latinos ages 20 

5 through 24 represent only 18 percent of the young 

6 adults in the United States, they accounted for 23 

7 percent of the new AIDS cases in 2004. 

8 SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE TO REDUCE TEEN PREGNANCY, HIV/ 

9 AIDS, AND OTHER SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED 

10 DISEASES AND TO SUPPORT HEALTHY ADO11 LESCENT DEVELOPMENT. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible State shall be enti13 tled to receive from the Secretary of Health and Human 

14 Services, for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012, 

15 a grant to conduct programs of family life education, in16 cluding education on both abstinence and contraception 

17 for the prevention of teenage pregnancy and sexually 

18 transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. 

19 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR FAMILY LIFE PROGRAMS.— 

20 For purposes of this Act, a program of family life edu21 cation is a program that— 

22 (1) is age-appropriate and medically accurate; 

23 (2) does not teach or promote religion; 

24 (3) teaches that abstinence is the only sure way 

25 to avoid pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases; 


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1 (4) stresses the value of abstinence while not ig2 noring those young people who have had or are hav3 ing sexual intercourse; 

4 (5) provides information about the health bene5 fits and side effects of all contraceptives and barrier 

6 methods as a means to prevent pregnancy; 

7 (6) provides information about the health bene8 fits and side effects of all contraceptives and barrier 

9 methods as a means to reduce the risk of con10 tracting sexually transmitted diseases, including 

11 HIV/AIDS; 

12 (7) encourages family communication about 

13 sexuality between parent and child; 

14 (8) teaches young people the skills to make re15 sponsible decisions about sexuality, including how to 

16 avoid unwanted verbal, physical, and sexual ad17 vances and how not to make unwanted verbal, phys18 ical, and sexual advances; and 

19 (9) teaches young people how alcohol and drug 

20 use can effect responsible decisionmaking. 

21 (c) ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out a pro22 gram of family life education, a State may expend a grant 

23 under subsection (a) to carry out educational and motiva24 tional activities that help young people— 


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1 (1) gain knowledge about the physical, emo2 tional, biological, and hormonal changes of adoles3 cence and subsequent stages of human maturation; 

4 (2) develop the knowledge and skills necessary 

5 to ensure and protect their sexual and reproductive 

6 health from unintended pregnancy and sexually 

7 transmitted disease, including HIV/AIDS through8 out their lifespan; 

9 (3) gain knowledge about the specific involve10 ment of and male responsibility in sexual decision11 making; 

12 (4) develop healthy attitudes and values about 

13 adolescent growth and development, body image, 

14 gender roles, racial and ethnic diversity, sexual ori15 entation, and other subjects; 

16 (5) develop and practice healthy life skills in17 cluding goal-setting, decisionmaking, negotiation, 

18 communication, and stress management; 

19 (6) promote self-esteem and positive inter20 personal skills focusing on relationship dynamics, in21 cluding, but not limited to, friendships, dating, ro22 mantic involvement, marriage and family inter23 actions; and 

24 (7) prepare for the adult world by focusing on 

25 educational and career success, including developing 


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1 skills for employment preparation, job seeking, inde2 pendent living, financial self-sufficiency, and work3 place productivity. 

4 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that while States are not 

6 required to provide matching funds, they are encouraged 

7 to do so. 

8 SEC. 5. EVALUATION OF PROGRAMS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of evaluating the 

10 effectiveness of programs of family life education carried 

11 out with a grant under section 3, evaluations of such pro12 gram shall be carried out in accordance with subsections 

13 (b) and (c). 

14 (b) NATIONAL EVALUATION.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

16 for a national evaluation of a representative sample 

17 of programs of family life education carried out with 

18 grants under section 3. A condition for the receipt 

19 of such a grant is that the State involved agree to 

20 cooperate with the evaluation. The purposes of the 

21 national evaluation shall be the determination of— 

22 (A) the effectiveness of such programs in 

23 helping to delay the initiation of sexual inter24 course and other high-risk behaviors; 


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1 (B) the effectiveness of such programs in 

2 preventing adolescent pregnancy; 

3 (C) the effectiveness of such programs in 

4 preventing sexually transmitted disease, includ5 ing HIV/AIDS; 

6 (D) the effectiveness of such programs in 

7 increasing contraceptive knowledge and contra8 ceptive behaviors when sexual intercourse oc9 curs; and 

10 (E) a list of best practices based upon es11 sential programmatic components of evaluated 

12 programs that have led to success in subpara13 graphs (A) through (D). 

14 (2) REPORT.—A report providing the results of 

15 the national evaluation under paragraph (1) shall be 

16 submitted to the Congress not later than March 31, 

17 2011, with an interim report provided on a yearly 

18 basis at the end of each fiscal year. 

19 (c) INDIVIDUAL STATE EVALUATIONS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—A condition for the receipt 

21 of a grant under section 3 is that the State involved 

22 agree to provide for the evaluation of the programs 

23 of family education carried out with the grant in ac24 cordance with the following: 


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1 (A) The evaluation will be conducted by an 

2 external, independent entity. 

3 (B) The purposes of the evaluation will be 

4 the determination of— 

5 (i) the effectiveness of such programs 

6 in helping to delay the initiation of sexual 

7 intercourse and other high-risk behaviors; 

8 (ii) the effectiveness of such programs 

9 in preventing adolescent pregnancy; 

10 (iii) the effectiveness of such pro11 grams in preventing sexually transmitted 

12 disease, including HIV/AIDS; and 

13 (iv) the effectiveness of such programs 

14 in increasing contraceptive knowledge and 

15 contraceptive behaviors when sexual inter16 course occurs. 

17 (2) USE OF GRANT.—A condition for the re18 ceipt of a grant under section 3 is that the State in19 volved agree that not more than 10 percent of the 

20 grant will be expended for the evaluation under 

21 paragraph (1). 

22 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

23 For purposes of this Act: 

24 (1) The term ‘‘eligible State’’ means a State 

25 that submits to the Secretary an application for a 


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1 grant under section 3 that is in such form, is made 

2 in such manner, and contains such agreements, as3 surances, and information as the Secretary deter4 mines to be necessary to carry out this Act. 

5 (2) The term ‘‘HIV/AIDS’’ means the human 

6 immunodeficiency virus, and includes acquired im7 mune deficiency syndrome. 

8 (3) The term ‘‘medically accurate’’, with respect 

9 to information, means information that is supported 

10 by research, recognized as accurate and objective by 

11 leading medical, psychological, psychiatric, and pub12 lic health organizations and agencies, and where rel13 evant, published in peer review journals. 

14 (4) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

15 of Health and Human Services. 

16 SEC. 7. APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of carrying out 

18 this Act, there are authorized to be appropriated such 

19 sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2008 

20 through 2012. 

21 (b) ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amounts appropriated 

22 under subsection (a) for a fiscal year— 

23 (1) not more than 7 percent may be used for 

24 the administrative expenses of the Secretary in car25 rying out this Act for that fiscal year; and 


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1 (2) not more than 10 percent may be used for 

2 the national evaluation under section 5(b). 

Æ 


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