Sex Ed Bill Blocked in S.C. Senate

A bill which would require South Carolina schools to teach medically-accurate information in sex education has been blocked in the state Senate.

The measure, which seeks to update the state’s 26-year-old sex education curriculum, passed the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday by a 9-2 vote, only to have Republican Sen. Mike Fair of Greenville place a procedural hold on its advancement to the Senate floor.

With only days left before the legislature adjourns, the bill is effectively dead despite having passed the House.

Sponsoring Rep. B.R. Skelton of Pickens says the bill seeks to lower the state’s nationally high rates of teen pregnancy and sexually-transmitted diseases.

Fair opposes the bill over concerns of the definition of ‘medically-accurate information’ and says change is not needed as teen pregnancies have decreased.