Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) -- at age 89 the oldest member of the U.S. Senate -- announced yesterday that he will be retiring at the end of his current term when it ends in 2015, but not before celebrating Valentine's Day with the introduction of several pieces of landmark legislation (the Access to Birth Control Act and the Real Education for Healthy Youth Act) protecting women's access to contraceptives and laying out a vision for comprehensive sex education in the United States.
Lautenberg and Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY-12) reintroduced the Access to Birth Control (ABC) Act, which would "prevent pharmacies from denying the sale of contraceptives because of a pharmacy employee’s religious beliefs," according to a news release from Lautenberg.
“This legislation would prevent a pharmacy from interfering in the personal medical decisions made by a patient and her doctor,” Sen. Lautenberg said, in a statement on Thursday. “Birth control is basic health care for women and Obamacare has removed financial hurdles for millions of women; we can't allow other obstacles to be placed in their way. By guaranteeing that women can access birth control at every pharmacy in the country, we can ensure that women are never denied the right to make responsible decisions about their reproductive health.”
The Senate's ABC Act bill is co-sponsored in the Senate by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Al Franken (D-MN), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR). The House bill has 15 co-sponsors.
Also on Thursday Lautenberg and Representative Barbara Lee (D- CA-13) reintroduced the Real Education for Healthy Youth Act, laying out a "comprehensive, age-appropriate, and holistic vision for sex education in the United States."The bill would provide five-year grants to nonprofit organizations, state and local education agencies, and nonprofit or public universities to fund comprehensive sex education programs
"Research has shown that programs which teach abstinence and contraception effectively delay the onset of sexual intercourse, reduce the number of sexual partners, and increase contraceptive use among teens," Lee said in a statement. "These programs also reduce unintended pregnancy and the transmission of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV."
Lautenberg has been strong on support for women's issues and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues throughout his career, including sex education, health care, contraception, and anti-bullying efforts. In 2011 he participated in the It Gets Better Project -- an anti-bullying campaign started by sex columnist Dan Savage -- along with his peers in the New Jersey Congressional Delegation (see video above).
Advocates for Youth and other sex education advocates are backing both bills.
"Young people have the right to lead healthy lives," writes Sarah Audelo, Director of Domestic Policy for Advocates for Youth. "To have healthy lives, young people need sex education programs which provide them with the information and skills necessary to make healthy decisions – and that includes medically accurate and complete information about abstinence, contraception, condoms, healthy relationships, sexuality, and more."
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