Last month, the worlds of politics and controversy peaked and converged in two major American cities. Topics of interest to American voters were challenged and debated and acceptance speeches were finally, wholeheartedly, made. But the politicians and protestors that filled the streets of Boston and New York City have finally gone home, and all that remains in the end are the issues.

From July 26 to July 29, Senator John Kerry held court at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in the Fleet Center of Boston, Massachusetts. A month later, from August 30 to September 2, President George W. Bush did the same at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in New York City, at Madison Square Garden.

Both men-candidates for the U.S. Presidency-covered the key issues: national security, healthcare, the economy, and education. The candidates covered other issues that are particularly relevant to young voters, including global and domestic HIV/AIDS, sex education, sexual and reproductive health for U.S. youth, and access to abortion.

At the DNC, Kerry and the Democratic National Committee emphasized the importance of funding science-based approaches to stopping the HIV/AIDS epidemic, both globally and domestically. Both Elizabeth Cavendish, interim president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, and Cheryl Jacques, president of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, echoed the Democratic party platform in their convention speeches.

Kerry's goal, according to the platform, is "to ensure that people with HIV and AIDS have the care they need, and . . . support the community-based prevention programs, built on experience with real life, that President Bush has cut." According to Mark Shields, deputy director for Media Relations at the Human Rights Campaign, Kerry's goal for the future of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment was presented effectively. "The DNC commitment to HIV/AIDS went well beyond rhetoric. They actually had an HIV-positive woman, Denise Stokes, who is an activist in Atlanta, address the convention about the importance of fighting this deadly disease," he says.

Expressing similar sentiments to Kerry, the RNC emphasized the importance of making a financial commitment to fighting the global and domestic war on HIV/AIDS. The Republican party platform suggests HIV/AIDS is an epidemic that "disproportionately affects minority populations," and speakers, including Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, supported President Bush's proposal to expand resources to research and find an HIV/AIDS vaccine and make it available globally. "President Bush has committed record levels of support to fighting the disease," Brownback said during the second night of the convention. In addition, the President's Emergency Plan for HIV/AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) embraces abstinence and promotes faithfulness to one lifetime partner.

Referencing Bush's stance on sex education in the U.S., Brownback stated that President Bush "has called for a new focus on abstinence education." The Republican platform cites abstinence-only sex education as a successful method of preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS, as well as unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, stating, "Abstinence from sexual activity is the only protection that is 100-percent effective."

Sex education, as well as sexual health and reproductive health for American youth, was also addressed at the DNC. In a speech given the first night of the convention, Gloria Feldt, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, echoed the Democratic party platform in her criticism of President Bush's support of abstinence-only sex education in American high schools.

"It's unbelievable all the different ways that [the Bush administration] has been attacking and rolling back . . . access to family planning and medically accurate sex information," she said, stating that Kerry would support preventive measures-including strong, comprehensive sex education for youth, as well as access to family planning services.

This issue was also discussed in the context of abortion. During the DNC, Kerry made it clear that he is pro-choice, supporting a woman's access to abortion. As stated in the Democratic party platform, Kerry "believes in the privacy and equality of women [and] stands proudly for a woman's right to choose, consistent with Roe v. Wade, and regardless of her ability to pay." In addition, Feldt stated that Kerry plans to appoint only pro-choice judges to the Supreme Court.

Contrastingly, President Bush-whose pro-life agenda does not include punitive action against women who have an abortion-actively seeks to allow states to extend health care coverage to "unborn children" and protect them under the Fourth Amendment. By doubling financing for abstinence-only sex education, President Bush hopes to oppose school-based clinics that provide referrals, counseling, and related services for contraception (like condoms) and abortion. Furthermore, the platform states that the government will not support or provide funding for pro-choice organizations.

In his speech on the final night of the RNC, President Bush stated that "because a caring society will value its weakest members, we must make a place for the unborn child." In response to Kerry's plans to nominate only pro-choice judges to the Supreme Court, President Bush said he "will continue to appoint federal judges who know the difference between personal opinion and the strict interpretation of the law." The President plans to appoint pro-life judges to the Supreme Court.

Both candidates recognize the importance of addressing issues that will affect youth in the future. John Kerry and George W. Bush do not agree on many sexual health issues, but they both made more of an effort to include a range of topics that affect young people than presidential candidates of years past. Whether pro-life or pro-choice, pro-comprehensive or pro-abstinence-only sex ed, it is important for young people to research and learn about these issues, choose the candidate they feel will have the most positive effect on the future of America's youth, and vote.

Kameron Collins, 16, of North Plainfield, NJ, is an editor for SEX, ETC., the national newsletter and Web site written by teens, for teens, on sexual health issues, published by the Network for Family Life Education at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

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