The Utah state legislature withdrew H.B. 12, the bill that would prosecute women for illegal abortions and some miscarriages.

And it happened because of you!

Last week, through Amplify, we asked for your help in calling national attention to this dangerous piece of legislation. Your efforts focused public pressure on this bill and forced Utah politicians to back down under national scrutiny.

This story would not have received national attention without your hard work, and I wanted to thank you personally for your help.

by Meredith Schoenfeld-Hicks, Manager, State Strategies

The Wisconsin Healthy Youth Alliance can pat itself on the back!  More than 50 member organizations brought together the public health community, educators, youth serving and advocacy organizations, and student and parent activists throughout the state to pass the Healthy Youth Act (HYA).   The Healthy Youth Act passed the State Assembly on November 5th 2009 and the Senate on January 28th 2010.  The bill was signed into law by Governor Jim Doyle on February 24th 2010. 

This important legislation ensures that the most current standards of sex education are being taught and that public schools are using programs proven to reduce teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease (STD) rates.  The bill updates the core elements of what a sex education program must include if offered in Wisconsin and does away with ineffective abstinence only policies.  Studies estimate that Wisconsin taxpayers are currently paying $273 million dollars a year to treat teen sexually transmitted diseases and costs associated with teen childbearing.

The Healthy Youth Act has five key components. 

by Nicole Cheetham, Director, International Division

A couple of weeks ago Michel Sidibe, the Director of UNAIDS, released a “letter to partners,” in which he essentially outlines 9 priority areas for a UNAIDS outcome framework.  It wasn’t long ago that Mr. Sidibe visited Advocates for Youth during our Urban Retreat Training.  Mr. Sidibe had the opportunity to speak to more than 100 of Advocates’ youth activists from across the country, as well as engage in a smaller meeting with Advocates’ International Youth Leadership Council and youth activists from Nigeria, Jamaica, and Ethiopia.  When Mr. Sidibe addressed the Advocates’ youth leaders, he seemed genuine and enjoyed the dialogue that ensued.  This was his first official trip to Washington, DC, and he made a point of noting that this was his first meeting in our capital city.  At one point during the question and answer period, one of the activists asked him how he had come to do this work, and his story reflected a drive for human dignity and rights.  Certainly, this comes through in the framework that he has just released a year into his leadership of UNAIDS.