GOP DA Threatens Sex-Ed Teachers With Jail

A Republican district attorney in Wisconsin is warning teachers who talk about contraceptives in class that they may be prosecuted for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Juneau County DA Scott Southworth calls a state law establishing a new sex-ed program in schools a "sick and shameful piece of legislation" that encourages illegal sex among minors and "could lead to criminal charges." He compared it to "teaching children about alcohol use, then instructing them on how to make mixed alcoholic drinks."

He also said in a detailed letter that the law promotes the sexual assault of children, reports the Wisconsin State Journal. Democratic Madison Rep. Kelda Helen Roys blasted Southworth as a "zealot" who is trying to "intimidate school administrators." A Planned Parenthood spokesman called Southworth's statement "very threatening to teachers," but likely "baseless." Under the law, schools can opt out of teaching sex ed, and parents can remove their children from classes.
(More Scott Southworth stories.)