Wisc. Senate Passes Schools Abstinence Bill

Wisconsin school teachers would have to promote abstinence and marriage over contraception in sex education classes, under a controversial bill passed by the state Senate on Wednesday night, Fox News reports.

The Republican-backed legislation passed 17-15 on party lines and will now head to the GOP-dominated state Assembly -- possibly as early as Thursday, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. Democrats argued against the legislation saying kids would not get all the information they needed to make good choices.

Last year Democrats passed a bill requiring schools that offer sex education to include information on contraception methods.

While the legislation would not prevent a teacher from discussing contraceptives, they would have to stress abstaining from sex the only reliable way to avoid sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies.

"We are trying to back away from the bill passed last year that we feel mandated sex ed that was too nonjudgmental, too explicit and at too young an age," said Republican state Sen. Glenn Grothman.