Our Legislative Priorities - Planned Parenthood - South Florida and the Treasure Coast

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In our health centers, on the streets, and on Capitol Hill, Planned Parenthood is at the forefront of the reproductive health and rights movement. We work hard to make sure our movement for reproductive freedom for all is sustained, vibrant & relentless!

2009 Legislation

Planned Parenthood is working to pass two important pieces of legislation in Florida to improve access to health care and education.

The Healthy Teens Act

The Healthy Teens Act protects Florida’s teens by requiring that public schools receiving state funding provide comprehensive, medically-accurate, and age-appropriate factual information when teaching about sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, family planning, or pregnancy.

Parents and teachers agree that youth need comprehensive sex education that is age-appropriate, including the facts that help protect them from diseases that threaten their health.

73% of Floridians believe public schools should teach a comprehensive sex education program.
90% of Florida teachers feel sex education should be taught in schools.
Florida’s Teens Need to be Safe & Informed
Florida has the 2nd highest AIDS case rate in the country, with 4,960 new AIDS cases in 2005 and 100,809 cases overall.
Florida has the 6th highest syphilis rate of any state, with 724 reported cases in 2005.
Florida has the 6th highest teen pregnancy rate and each year 48,440 teens get pregnant.

For more information visit the Healthy Teens Campaign Website.

The Prevention First Act

The Prevenion First Act will significantly reduce the need for abortion by helping women and families prevent unintended pregnancies by requiring health care practitioners and facilities to provide compassionate care to rape survivors including information and access to emergency contraception, requiring pharmacies to ensure that lawful prescription and over-the-counter contraceptives are dispensed to patients in-store, without discrimination or delay, and codifying the right to access birth control by stating that contraception is not abortion and shall not be treated as such in the law.

Ninety-eight percent of sexually active women in the U.S. use contraceptives at some point during their lifetimes.
Nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of American voters including 73 percent of Catholic voters believe that a pharmacist should NOT be allowed to refuse to fill a prescription based on moral or religious objection.

Learn more information about Florida

Florida Report Card on Sex Education

Florida Teens Speak Out About Sex Education