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The House debated and tentatively passed H 88: Health Youth Act on a 64-53 vote today. There will need to be a vote on 3d reading before the bill kicks over to the Senate.

The bill essentially creates two sex education tracks in North Carolina. Both supposedly emphasize abstinence until marriage. But as described by backers of the bill, they differ this way:

• * The abstinence track is what most NC students get now. Although some birth control methods are covered in this course, proponents of H88 say its emphases is unrealistic.

• * The comprehensive track would say waiting to have sex until married is better, but goes on to talk about birth control and disease prevention from what advocates say is a broader perspective.

Click here for a story I wrote back in February outlining the bill.

And click here for Wednesday's story on the House debate.

I could try to recount this debate, but it may be more effective just to let you listen in:

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Update: Here's one more piece of audio I didn't have in the original post. Wake County Republican Rep. Marilyn Avila argued against the bill: "Until we take the same attitude towards our children learning the responsibilities that they owe their bodies with regards to sex that we want them to take with regards to smoking, we're not going to see much of an improvement."

As hard as the workplace smoking ban was to pass the House, I dare 'em to try a ban on sex.

Click here to listen to Avila's full clip.

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Click here to listen to the debate on the first amendment of the day, which would say that if a parent doesn't give their written consent the student could not take either sex education track. Rep. Earl Jones challenged this idea, saying that kids with less involved parents who might not bother signing forms are the very kids who need the comprehensive course.

"It seems to me that science should not be trumped by fiction or fairy tail," Jones said. Bill sponsors backed this amendment as a way to make the bill less controversial and more likely to pass.

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Rep. John Blust worried that parents wouldn't necessarily understand the choice between the two sex education curricula.

“I’m asking what information parents will be given as to the details of the proposed curriculum,” Blust said. “Reading these guidelines of what we’ve called euphemistically abstinence-based comprehensive — some of these particulars do not appear appropriate. We cannot even read them on the floor (of the House) probably without being gaveled down.”

Click here to listen to Blust's question and remarks.

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Another amendment offered to make the bill less controversial removed references to "long-term, committed relationships." From my story:

Conservative groups had railed against that language as opening the door to teaching about homosexuality or that having multiple spouses was acceptable. Backers of the bill said removing the language would make the measure less controversial.

“I’m a little curious about your amendment,” Rep. Jennifer Weiss of Wake County said. “Did you know your wife before you married her?”

Goforth paused, then said, “I think that’s a personal question and I don’t think —”

Weiss shot back, “I did not mean in the biblical sense,” as others on the House floor laughed.

“I did know my wife before I married her; I didn’t get her off the Internet or anything,” Goforth said.

Weiss argued that most people are involved in relationships with potential spouses before marriage. And she added that people in their 20s were waiting for years to marry while still involved with the same person.

Click here to listen to that debate.

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Rep. Paul Stam of Wake County argued against the bill pretty forcefully. Click here for his thoughts - all 13-plus minutes worth.

It includes the soon-to-be immortal line: "Big love is coming to North Carolina," a reference to plural marriages. Oh, and he had a couple of really oblique references to masturbation and anal sex.

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Rep. Alma Adams of Greensboro offered her thoughts in support of the bill.

“We’re teaching in most of our school systems abstinence, but abstinence is not what most students are doing,” Adams said.