Republicans want colleges to pair adoption info with every STI test and condom

Republicans in the state legislature want every public university student in Arizona who receives contraceptives or testing for sexually transmitted infections from their school health office to receive information about adoption. 

House Bill 2040 would require public schools, colleges and universities to provide students with information about adoption any time they provide those students with information about contraception or STIs or when they provide students with contraception or STI testing.

Sponsored by Sen. Rachel Keshel, R-Tucson, the bill would also require the schools to provide students in any of those circumstances with information about Arizona’s safe-haven laws. 

Jodi Liggett, a lobbyist for Reproductive Freedom for All, told the Senate Education Committee on March 18 that Keshel’s bill would force schools to educate students about abortion at times that don’t make sense. 

“Reproductive Freedom for All supports adoption information in the context of pregnancy options,” she said. “That’s the critical issue here: context. Students and patients deserve information that is relevant, evidence-based and appropriate to their situation.” 

But the right time to provide information about adoption isn’t when a student is seeking out contraception or STI testing, Liggett said. 

“House Bill 2040 compels speech, overrides professional judgment and risks confusing students instead of helping them,” Liggett said. “If we want students to make healthy, informed decisions, we should give them the right information at the right time, not require irrelevant talking points.” 

During a Jan. 28 House Government Committee hearing on the proposal, Keshel argued that some people who have unplanned pregnancies don’t know about adoption. 

“All of those who are in the pro-choice camp, it seems to me, (are) more pro-abortion and not pro-choice,” Keshel said. “And we don’t talk enough about the other choices that people might have.”

The legislation was inspired, she said, by a speaker at a conference who said she had an abortion due to an unplanned pregnancy when she was a teenager because she didn’t realize that adoption was an option. 

“So, this solely just ensures that students also know that adoption is something that they can choose,” Keshel said. “And, to me, that is real pro-choice, when you know that you have other options other than some women who feel that they’re just backed into the corner of abortion.”

During the March 18 hearing, Sen. Eva Diaz, D-Tolleson, said she worried that HB2040 would result in adoption being presented as an alternative to contraception, something that could lead to unwanted pregnancies and the spread of STIs.

She called the bill’s requirements unreasonable and said that requiring adoption information to be tied to STI testing “doesn’t make sense.” 

Only 15 people and organizations officially signed in support of the bill, while 337 opposed it. 

“This is a concerning bill that was presented by the sponsor in committee with anti abortion rhetoric,” Diaz said before voting against the bill on the Senate floor Wednesday. “It’s not clear why adoption information would need to be provided when discussing health matters, such as STDs or STIs.”

Before voting against the bill on Wednesday, Sen. Lauren Kuby called the proposal absurd. She asked the other legislators to imagine a university event where a health professional is handing out condoms to students to promote safe sex, but is obligated to inform each student about adoption at the same time. 

“It replaces tailored evidence-based counseling with a one-size-fits-all, state-scripted message, undermining professional judgment and effective sex education,” the Tempe Democrat said. 

HB2040 passed the Senate on Wednesday, after passing the Arizona House of Representatives on Feb. 26, both along party lines. It will likely be blocked by a veto from Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, who has rejected every Republican attempt to interfere with reproductive rights.