Ayanna Pressley's statement on comprehensive sex education and condom distribution in Boston Public Schools

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Thank you all for coming today. The sexual health and wellness of our young people is subject matter which some may consider controversial. I am not one of those people. There is no controversy when it comes to the fundamental questions at the heart of today's hearing.

Are some young people sexually active? Yes they are.

Do those sexually active young people put themselves at risk for disease, infection and unplanned pregnancies? Yes they do.

Do teen pregnancies and unchecked and untreated STI's result in social, medical and fiscal problems for our entire city? Yes they do.

So here we are, facing an issue which leads to serious consequences for our young people, their families and our entire city, an issue which perpetuates cycles of poverty and violence, an issue which costs our city and our state more than $100 million annually to deal with, and some people find controversy because we may take action to tackle this issue.

Not taking action- now that would be controversial.

It would also be cowardly and counter to what I believe the role of government is- to solve problems and make people's lives better.

And not just the lives of these young people and their families. I want to make it crystal clear- this is an issue which has fiscal implications for every taxpayer in Boston. At a time when our budget is strained and state and federal cuts pose tougher times to come, here's a fiscal problem we can solve.

Because teen pregnancy and teen STI's are 100% preventable.

Contrary to the opinion of some, I am not advocating for a sexual health education curriculum that teaches young people how to have sex. Our young people already know how to have sex. The statistics and their own testimony leave no doubt as to that.

Nor am I encouraging our young people to have sex. I wish our young people would wait as long as possible to become sexually active, wait until they're older, more emotionally mature, better prepared to deal with the consequences and in a healthy, safe and exclusive relationship with a loving partner. But a solution based on wishing our young people would wait to have sex and doing nothing else is no solution at all.

We will hear from many stakeholders today- students, educators, health and medical professionals, parents and those who are opposed to a comprehensive sexual health education curriculum and condom availability. Many will offer their vision and their models for what a BPS program would look like.

But I want to make one thing clear- my ideal program includes abstinence. Because I know, from talking to our young people, from being a mentor and Big Sister, and from just being a girl, that there are plenty of young people having sex who don't want to be. They are coerced or pressured into it. Or they're in dangerous and unhealthy relationships and forced into it. Yes, I want our young people to know how to protect themselves if they are sexually active. But it's just as important that our young people know how to say no and not have sex.

The subject matter of this hearing may be controversial to some. To me, the only controversy would be if we sat back and did nothing to safeguard the physical and emotional health of our students, and the fiscal health of our city.

Thank you.

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