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There is still time to make your voice heard and support Florida teens getting the information they need to make healthy decisions - including medically-accurate, age-appropriate, comprehensive sex education.TAKE ACTION NOW! to tell your legislators to support policies that provide our youth with the comprehensive sex education they need to protect themselves and make responsible choices.

On November 5th, the University of Florida released a study confirming what we already knew - that the state of sex education in Florida is failing our youth. The very next day, a national report, Emerging Answers 2007, was released by Douglas Kirby, Ph.D., and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. The report showed that abstinence-only programs are ineffective, and includes strong evidence that abstinence-only programs do not have any impact on teen sexual behavior.

However, last year, Florida received $10,700,147 in federal funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. Florida is not only the the second largest recipient of federal abstinence-only funds in the nation, but also has the 6th highest rate of teen pregnancy and the 2nd highest rate of annual HIV transmission in the country.

Parents and teachers, working together, know best how to teach the difficult subjects of sex and life skills. But too many schools cater to a narrow minority by allowing abstinence-only programs to censor teachers and exclude parents input.

Teens need and deserve responsible sex education that includes information about abstinence, AND about protection from diseases and pregnancy.

THERE'S STILL TIME Sign the petition telling your legislators that the time has come for statewide standards so all teens learn the facts about sex from trusted and responsible sources.CLICK HERE to sign the petition today

Forcing students to decide between buying books and supplies for the semester or maintaining their sexual health is unacceptable. It is
essential that we as college students stand up for ourselves and contact our legislators. We must demand that our representatives take
the initiative to change the legislation in the Federal Deficit Reduction Act that dissuades pharmaceutical companies from offering
low-cost birth control to college health centers. The consequences of remaining silent are too far-reaching to ignore. Contraceptives comprise a vital part of fundamental health care. Everyone should be able to exercise their reproductive rights in an affordable and effective way. One of the steps to ensure this goal is for legislators to fix this flaw in the Deficit Reduction Act. TAKE
ACTION NOW!

What if Congress passed a law that made the price of your groceries go up by 900 percent? There would be an instant uproar, and you can bet the problem would be fixed, pronto.

So why is Congress dragging their feet when a recent law has made the price of birth control skyrocket to unaffordable prices for millions of women? For the college students and low-income women most affected by this cost hike, that's no small matter. CLICK HERE TO TELL CONGRESS TO SAVE BIRTH CONTROL NOW!

Today Planned Parenthood is asking people across the country to demand that Congress take action, and NOW.

Want to find out more? CLICK HERE!

As the saying goes, it's a man's world — except, perhaps, when it comes to reproductive and sexual health. There, by and large, women's reproductive health issues reign — just think of the TV ads for the new cervical cancer vaccine, or the pink ribbons for breast cancer research.

According to a recent study from the Guttmacher Institute, up to 52 percent of men have gone without any reproductive or sexual health services in the past year — and those that didn't often met with care that was either inadequate or not comprehensive. That's a lot of unmet need — HIV and other tests for sexually transmitted infections not taken, prostate and/or testicular exams not performed, and open, honest dialogue about serious reproductive and sexual health matters, such as birth control, left unspoken.

Men’s reproductive and sexual health needs may change over the course of their lives. With adequate, accurate information and skills, men can protect their health and well-being. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS IMPORTANT TOPIC!

There are 237 reasons to have sex — and having a child is number 27. That's what researchers from the University of Texas at Austin found. They surveyed 2,000 women and men about their motivations for having sex; this ample (though not exhaustive) list, published in the August issue of Archives of Sexual Behavior, is the result.

From a Planned Parenthood point of view, that's 230-plus reasons to use birth control. Whether you were simply "in the heat of the moment" (1), "tired of being a virgin" (31), or thinking sex might help you fall asleep (108), or because you wanted to "burn calories" (176), if you choose to have intercourse, correct and consistent use of birth control is the best way to avoid an unintended pregnancy. Given the wide range of motivations for having sex, and so few aimed at conception, the availability of good, affordable, and reliable birth control is vital. Remember, in the United States, nearly half of all pregnancies are unplanned.

Every year, 85 percent of women aged 15–44 who don’t use birth control during vaginal intercourse become pregnant. Although the only guarantee against unintended pregnancy is to not have sex, using birth control can reduce your risk of pregnancy from vaginal intercourse. For more information abut birth control methods CLICK HERE!

In the mean time, while the New York Times' John Tierney is on the lookout for reason number 238, the researchers are working on another list — reasons why people don't have sex. Stay tuned.