Why I'm glad Romney won't be governor by the time my daughter is old enough for sex ed

By adamg on Fri, 04/21/2006 - 12:02pm

Because she's a Boston public-school student and I don't want her attending one of Mitty's right-wing Christian abstinence classes.

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Comments

amen

By jason on Fri, 04/21/2006 - 1:15pm.

amen to that. kids already get enough mis-information about sex; they don't need to be getting it straight from some wingnut abstinence teacher.

What frustrates me is that on NPR they had the same blurb about this both yesterday and today where the head of Planned Parenthood says that this is bad because it's teaching Abstinence ONLY...only to have Romney come on and say its abstinence ALSO...

Obviously it's one or the other. How about some better reporting where they let us know the truth, and then get a quote from either one of these guys when confronted with it.

Sometimes there isn't two sides to a story, sometimes there's just a right side and a wrong side. We need to stop trying to go out of our way to show that we're "Fair and balanced" on issues where there is a clear truth/lie element involved.

Sorry, this got me so annoyed both times it aired because I was left thinking "well, which is it? It either is one or the other!"

Globe Article

By Mister Goat on Fri, 04/21/2006 - 2:34pm.

The Globe article today cited someone from the program saying that it wasn't abstinence only, but giving no info to back that up. Specifically, the quote was:

''It is not abstinence only, or a 'Just Say No' campaign," said Ray of Healthy Futures. ''Sexual activity causes an extreme amount of pain for adolescents. Healthy Futures helps adolescents understand that the decisions they make can affect their long-term future."

A parent of a Boston Latin student also had a disturbing comment:

They talk about condom use being ineffective, so the curriculum is really misguiding kids.

So perhaps by "abstinence-also," Romney means that it includes scare tactics and misinformation?

What you really want?

By Manny on Fri, 04/21/2006 - 10:06pm.

And you'd rather have her taught that it's OK to be having sex at 13, right?

You'd rather her in a Jr. High where the boys are walking around with teir pockets filled with condoms that were given by the "school nurse".

Your daughter will be thrilled.

Abstinence is a good thing, but ...

By adamg on Fri, 04/21/2006 - 11:23pm.

A. I want her knowing all the facts. That's NOT the same as saying I want her to have sex at age 13.

B. One of the reasons she goes to a public school is because it is public, not parochial. If we'd wanted her to get a Christian education, we would have sent her to a religious school (and aside from the whole parenting thing, there's the whole First Amendment thing - yes, I object to tax dollars going to fund a Christian "education" program).

It's not religion to teach abstinance.

By Manny on Fri, 04/28/2006 - 9:14pm.

>> I want her knowing all the facts. That's NOT the same as saying I want her to have sex at age 13.<<

And you think that right now they are simply giving her "the facts"? The plumbing is taught in biology. The sex ed they are given right now tells them that it is their own decision when and how to have sex. They are taught to disregard what their parents say, etc.

They are told they can decide whatever they want.

>>One of the reasons she goes to a public school is because it is public, not parochial. If we'd wanted her to get a Christian education, we would have sent her to a religious school<<

Who said anything about teaching her religion or Christian?

You can teach someone strategies and reasons for postponing sex without teaching them religion. Even most agnostics don't want their daughters having sex at age 13.

>>I object to tax dollars going to fund a Christian "education" program).<<

And I object to my tax dollars going to fund a left-wing-values program that we currently have. We been trying it your way for how many years? How many teen pregnancies do we now have? Doesn't sound like your way is working too well.

Manny, what junior high do

By Mister Goat on Sat, 04/22/2006 - 1:50am.

Manny, what junior high do you know where boys walk around with the pockets filled with condoms? And what curriculum involves telling 13 year olds that it's okay to have sex? I don't know of any, though I want anyone--particularly a 13-year-old--to know what to do to prevent pregnancy and STD's!

And why do you put "school nurse" in quotes?

Condoms in their pockets...

By Manny on Fri, 04/28/2006 - 9:21pm.

>>Manny, what junior high do you know where boys walk around with the pockets filled with condoms? <<

Most JHS's and HS's have health centers where boys can get condoms free of charge. Most boys are told to keep them ":just in case".

>> And what curriculum involves telling 13 year olds that it's okay to have sex? <<

Most of them do....by basically saying that if you *want* to have sex...it's your decision to make. None that I know of tell kids it is NOT a good idea to have sex at 13....they tell you when you are ready and have decided to accept the responsibilities and consequences, etc.

>> I don't know of any, though I want anyone--particularly a 13-year-old--to know what to do to prevent pregnancy and STD's!<<

And why do people think that adding the teaching of abstinance skills and strategies will somehow erase all knowledge of pregs and STD's?

Abstinence life & death

By Al on Sat, 04/22/2006 - 1:25am.

First I don't think only abstinence should be taught. The truth should be taught! Teens should get complete information on STD's. Teen's should be taught that HIV "AIDS" is killing a lot of teenagers right now! Teen's should be taught there are lots of other STD's that rang from being minerly uncomfortable to causing sterility! Teen's should get all the graphic imformation about abortion, in which there is both a death rate and suicide from the proceedure. Give teenagers a good look at reality. Morality is not just a matter of being a prued, but now day's with the dieses going around it's a matter of life and death! and I don't want my children to have to go threw dying from AID's.
AL

I'm totally with you

By eeka on Sat, 04/22/2006 - 4:09pm.

...as long as they also mention that the death rate and suicide rate resulting from giving birth to a child are higher than those resulting from an elective abortion.

http://1smootshort.blogspot.com

And...

By Mister Goat on Sat, 04/22/2006 - 6:35pm.

And if you want to avoid those STD's which cause everything from discomfort to sterility (to death, which both AIDS and syphilis can cause), you need to be able to talk openly about sex!

It's more than urging kids to be abstinent, because young people will make choices, and if they choose not to be abstinent, they're not safe if they don't have information. And research shows that many young people who do choose not to have heterosexual intercourse until marriage still have oral and anal sex before marriage. Do they know how to do that safely?

It's more than saying that sex can kill them, because that's not necessarily true. And as kids see that older teens and their peers are having sex and are perfectly healthy, they'll learn to ignore what they were told in health class. In short, scare tactics don't tend to work well.

And honestly, it's more than just saying "Always use a condom!" There are different sex acts with different risks, and while I understand not wanting to get graphic in school, there are ways to provide information that people need to keep safe.

So you wanna give information about the risks and dangers of sex? I'm cool with that. But let's give ALL the information, including how to minimize those risks, so that young people can stay healthy.

http://mistergoat.livejournal.com