Gov. Jim Doyle slammed warnings from a Wisconsin prosecutor that those who teach the state's new sex education curriculum could be charged with contributing to the delinquency of children.
"It's really an unusual argument to make, 'Follow the law and I'll prosecute you,'" Doyle said on Wednesday.
Doyle made his comments to reporters the day after the Wisconsin State Journal and other news organizations reported Juneau County District Attorney Scott Southworth had sent a letter to five area school districts warning that the state's law will encourage minors to have sex.
Doyle said that those who follow the new state law, which he signed in February, aren't going to be prosecuted "no matter what the views of one particular district attorney are."
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He called it a "common sense bill."
Southworth has said he expects the districts he contacted will "need time to review the letter and discuss it at school board meetings."
Meanwhile, Christina Brey of the Wisconsin Education Association Council said the organization "would stand up for teachers on this matter."
"We believe that any litigation would be frivolous," she said.
But Wisconsin Right to Life praised Southworth for not taking the new law "lying down."
"We'll be watching developments from Juneau County with Great interest," Susan Armacost, Legislative Director of Wisconsin Right to Life, said in a statement. "The only way this outrageous law ever came to pass is because the Democratic leadership in Madison and the current governor are joined at the hip with the Planned Parenthoods of the world."
