K. Sujata, President and CEO of the Chicago Foundation for Women wrote an op-ed for The Chicago Tribune about the sexual health education bill. Sujata references recent comments by Elizabeth Smart, the young Utah woman who was abducted and sexually abused in 2002, and how her abstinence-only school curriculum made her feel about sex before marriage:

"I thought, 'Oh my gosh, I'm that chewed up piece of gum, nobody rechews a piece of gum. You throw it away,'" she recently said. "And that's how easy it is to feel like you no longer have worth, you no longer have value. Why would it even be worth screaming out? Why would it even make a difference if you are rescued? Your life still has no value."

And the lesson she was taught has been repeated in Illinois classrooms.

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