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Chicago became the first major city to implement sex ed for high schools.
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The America Social Hygiene Association (ASHA) was formed.
The AHSA's goals were to:
1.End the silence surrounding the discussion of venereal diseases.
2.Have sex education taught in schools and reach the public.
3.Research into the cause of venereal diseases.
4.Bring down the cost of medical care for venereal diseases.
5.To get public officials to talk about the effects venereal diseases. -
Margret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in country.
Within two weeks her clinic was raided and she was arrested. However, Sanger was not to be dissuaded from her mission. She had witnessed her mother die after becoming pregnant nineteen times. -
The Chambberlain-Kahn Act was passed.
Congress passed The Chamberlain-Kahn Act, which allocated money to educate soldiers about syphilis and gonorrhea. During this time, Americans began to view sex ed as a public-health. -
Schools integrated sex education into their cirriculums.
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Period: to
The Wasserman Test evolved.
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The Supreme Court ordered condems illegal.
In 1930, the Supreme Court ordered condoms illegal if they were used for the purposes of contraception. However, they could be purchased if they were used to prevent the spread of venereal diseases. -
Condoms became available for sale.
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The National Venereal Diseases Control Act was passed
By 1938, a Gallup Poll showed that 90% of Americans wanted information about venereal diseases. They got their wish when the National Venereal Diseases Control Act of 1938 was passed. The act set aside funding for the rapidtreatment of syphilis in local treatment centers. -
Venereal Disease rate spiked in teenagers.
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The birth control pill was made legal.
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Roe vs. Wade legalized abortion.
The court case that changed America was decided in 1973 when Roe vs. Wade legalized abortion. Abortion had been happening all along, but now that it was legal, it could be regulatedand made safer for women everywhere as standards were set. This gave women greater reproductive freedom. -
The Adolescent Family Life Act was passed.
It would become known as Title XX, a sharp contrast to the previous sex education encouraging Title X. Funding was directed toward the Religious Right’s sex education programs as the country tried to fight the increase in teen pregnancy and std's. If a teen sought contraceptives, their parents were notified. This turned teens away from securing information about sex education. -
The Abstinence Only Program wad Funded
Funding was instead directed to more abstience-only education for students. Total funding per year for these programsreached $50 million. Surgeon General Antonia Novello, under President Bush, Snr., expressedher support that sex and AIDS education should be taught in the home instead of in the schools. -
The release of the Surgeon General's Call to Action toPromote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior
The report added no new information as he spoke of the continued spread of sexually transmitted diseases in the United States. He did however assert that there was noscientific backed knowledge that sexual orientation could be changed. Homosexuality was atopic back on the radar following the murder of Matthew Shephard in 1998 because of his sexualorientation. Towards the end of the decade though, several states passed laws legalazing same sex marriage though Proposition 8 in California. -
Health Care Reform Act allotted $250 million for Title V abstinence-only sex education programs.
Despite the government’s stance to fund abstinence-only educationprograms, several states have decided to opt out of federal funds and teach their own more comprehensive programs.
