- Jane Fonda opened up about her hopes for the adolescent sexual health organization, GCAPP.
- The "Grace and Frankie" actor emphasized the importance of comprehensive sex ed for teens.
Jane Fonda spoke about her goals for her teen sexual health organization, the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power & Potential (GCAPP), in a new interview with People.
The "Grace and Frankie" actress emphasized the importance of comprehensive sex education for adolescents, which wasn't exactly the norm when Fonda founded the organization in 1995.
"It was very hard then in Georgia because most schools taught, 'Just Say No. Don't engage in sex until you're married,'" Fonda told People.
But according to the 85-year-old, this approach isn't realistic for most teens.
"Kids are getting married later and later, and it doesn't help them understand what they're supposed to do with the hormones and the feelings and the passion that arises in them at this age," Fonda explained.
In the interview, Fonda revealed that she was partly inspired to start GCAPP after traveling to a Georgia hospital in 1994. During her hospital visit, Fonda encountered a 14-year-old who was giving birth to her second child.
"I remember looking into her face and not knowing what I could say to her," the "Barbarella" star remembered. "I realized that whatever we do, we have to, in the work, give young people a sense that they will have a future."
"And that they needed to stay out of trouble that would compromise that future," she added.
Fonda revealed in September that she'd been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and was undergoing chemotherapy treatments.
"This is a very treatable cancer," Fonda wrote in a lengthy Instagram post about the diagnosis. "80% of people survive, so I feel very lucky."
The 84-year-old also acknowledged her privilege of having health insurance and access to quality doctors and treatments.