The organization that produced a sex education curriculum that the Worcester School Committee may adopt later this week is enthusiastic about abortion, based on numerous public statements the group has made.
The curriculum, called Rights, Respect, Responsibility, comes from an organization called Advocates for Youth, which is headquartered in Washington D.C. and “works alongside thousands of young people here in the U.S. and around the globe as they fight for sexual health, rights, and justice,” according to its web site.
So what does Advocates for Youth believe in?
Abortion, for starters.
Advocates for Youth has used the hashtag #ShoutYourAbortion on Twitter many times. It was a hashtag campaign meant to normalize abortion by having people share their experiences with it.
One tweet from the organization with this hashtag suggests that the organization does not support any restrictions on abortion. It said, “Any reason is valid + those reasons are no one’s but yours to make.”
Last month, Advocates for Youth issued several tweets calling for the legalization of self-managed abortion. That’s when a pregnant female obtains abortion pills, known as medication abortion, and administers the pills to herself without a physician or nurse present.
One tweet from April 29 says: “*taps mic* Reproductive Justice includes supporting ALL types of abortion, and that most definitely means decriminalizing self-managed abortion. #AbortionOutLoud.“
Another on the same day reiterated the organization’s position that abortions are a “human right.”
Advocates for Youth tweeted, “Self-managed abortion is simply an abortion that takes place outside a clinical setting. And yet, in some states people can be ARRESTED for it. Self-managed abortion is a human right just like any other kind of abortion. It should be decriminalized everywhere. #AbortionOutLoud.”
The organization made clear earlier this year that it supports ending the Hyde Amendment. It prohibits federal tax dollars from paying for elective abortions and prevents an estimated 50,000 abortions per year, according to National Review.
In response to a White House press release tweeted out by an NPR reporter in January 2021 commemorating the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Advocates for Youth tweeted out, “What we like: Keeping promises to protect and increase access to abortion care What we also *really* like: Ending the #HydeAmendment #BeBoldEndHyde.”
The organization also wants to force health insurance companies to cover abortion — and reiterated its claim that men can get pregnant.
“Trans men get abortions,” Advocates for Youth tweeted. “Non-binary folks get abortions. Young people get abortions. Medicaid-recipients get abortions. People of Color get abortions. And no matter how they’re covered, their insurance should pay for it! #AbortionOutLoud.”
Additionally, Advocates for Youth opposed the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court in October 2020. The reason: organization officials thought Barrett would restrict abortion as a member of the Supreme Court.
“For many young people, access to abortion care is already limited — and we’re already fighting to expand it,” they tweeted. “But #AmyConeyBarrett will work to dismantle many of the advances made in our lifetimes — and worsen the problems. #SCOTUSHearing #WeDissent.”
“To the President and the Senate: People should be trusted to make their own decisions about their healthcare. Period,” the statement continued. “Young people have been fighting the fight for reproductive health, rights, and justice for a long time, and we’re not stopping now. #SCOTUSHearing #WeDissent.”
Abortion features prominently in the lesson plans for grades 9 and 10 in the group’s sex education curriculum Rights, Respect, Responsibility, as NewBostonPost reported earlier this week. (The article includes 17 excerpts from the curriculum.)
A spokesman for Advocates for Youth could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Critics have said that the curriculum is not age-appropriate and has no place in schools because it cheapens sex and promotes destructive behavior among adolescents.
Supporters of the curriculum say it provides information young people need, including about sexual practices of people who are attracted to members of the same sex or who identify with a gender that does not correspond to their biological sex.
The Worcester School Committee is expected to vote on whether to incorporate the Rights, Respect, Responsibility sex education curriculum at its meeting scheduled for Thursday, May 6. According to the meeting agenda, a closed session is scheduled for 5 p.m., followed by a public session at 6 p.m., during which the sex education curriculum is supposed to be discussed.
The meeting is scheduled to be carried live online, at this Zoom link. The passcode is 512165.
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