Tell Governor Herbert to VETO House Bill 363, “Health Education Amendments,” as this piece of legislation represents bad health policy for the state of Utah. Email the governor at http://governor.utah.gov/goca/form_comment.html or call 801-538-1000 and have your voice be heard!

• HB 363 deprives parents of the choice to have health education other than abstinence only instruction provided in public schools. At a time when both national and Utah data indicate that teens are ill-informed about critical health information, and when a majority of parents support providing this information to teens, the state of Utah should not be standing in the way.
• Evidence clearly shows that sexuality education that stresses the importance of waiting to have sex while providing accurate, age-appropriate, and complete information about how to use contraceptives effectively to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can help teens make healthy decisions.

• Parents can and should teach their children about sexuality but most parents also believe that it is appropriate for school-based sex education programs to teach students how to use and where to get contraceptives. Utah law already requires parents to opt students in; HB 363 takes away that choice!