What "Comprehensive" Sex Ed Is Really All About

The Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health is at it again.

In 2006, ICAH held its annual fundraiser at Playboy's executive offices.

That event—view the invitation here [PDF]—included a VIP reception with Playboy CEO Christie Hefner, the daughter of Hugh Hefner, who founded the magazine in 1953. Several years ago, Christie decided that the company could make more money by producing increasingly harder-core pornography—something that even her father was reluctant to do for a long time.

The next year, their annual fundraiser featured a stripper.

At this year's event on June 15, ICAH will be honoring sex advice columnist Dan Savage with the group's "Sexuality Activist Award."

The fact that Savage is being honored tells us everything we need to know about ICAH's values and the advice they believe should be given to kids.

On his website, Savage recommends things like group sex and encourages his readers to enter amateur porn contests. For the sake of propriety, most of the advice he gives I won't even mention obliquely.

He also ridicules a support group for pornography addicts by claiming "porn addiction is bulls***."

This despite reams of evidence showing how devastatingly harmful and addictive porn really is. (For but one example, witness pop singer John Mayer's candid admission that he would rather watch porn than form a new relationship with a real woman.)

In its press statement [PDF] announcing this year's event, ICAH blames "harmful abstinence-only-until-marriage messages that have proven inaccurate and ineffective" for the alarmingly high rates of pregnancy and STDs among teens.

Yet the evidence for successful abstinence education programs continues to mount, and meanwhile, it's increasingly clearer that the message of Condoms, Condoms, More Condoms, And Even More Condoms doesn't, you know, work.

So let's review:

For 3 of the last 5 years, the honored guests at ICAH functions have included the CEO of Playboy, a stripper, and a lurid sex columnist.

And they expect the people of Illinois to believe they have our children's best interests at heart when they push for so-called "comprehensive" sex education.

How stupid do they think we are?

Related Coverage on the Generations for Life Blog

• What Really Goes On In "Comprehensive" Sex Ed Class


• When did Playboy Become Respectable?

[Cross-posted at Pro-Life Action League and Generations for Life]

Abstinence Education Works

If you asked 100 people at random if they believed abstinence education is effective, most of them would probably say no.

Most would probably say that teaching abstinence is “unrealistic”, that it doesn’t work, and that schools should instead be teaching so-called “comprehensive” sex education.

A big part of the reason why so many people believe abstinence education is ineffective is because its opponents—not the least of which are the major players in the abortion industry and other pro-abortion choice organizations—have been relentlessly tub-thumping for years trying to convince people that it is so, such that it's now one of those things that "everybody knows".

And most mainstream media outlets have carried water for them every step of the way.

So ingrained in popular consciousness is this idea that when the Washington Post reported on a "landmark" study released Monday that demonstrated remarkable comparative effectiveness of abstinence education vs. so-called "comprehensive" sex education, they couldn't bring themselves to fully admit what the research showed.

The War on Abstince [Sic]

Last week a press release from the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy found its way into my inbox with "Abstince-Only [sic] Programs Advance Harmful Stereotypes" in the subject line:

Abstinence-only sex education programs not only are ineffective, but also advance harmful gender stereotypes, states a new ACS Issue Brief. The authors examine a little-noticed aspect of a controversial issue that otherwise has been much studied.

The article notes that the abstinence-only programs “taught in the U.S. public schools suffer from numerous flaws,” such as providing students misinformation. But the authors, Bonnie Scott Jones, a deputy director with the Center for Reproductive Rights, and Michelle Movahed, a staff attorney with the Center, point out that abstinence-only programs also can contain the “deeply harmful flaw” of perpetuating gender stereotypes.” Some of the programs “teach boys and girls that their abilities, natures, capacities, and potential are defined and limited by gender.”

What, you mean, like, teaching that *only* one of the two sexes can get pregnant?

Tut, tut.

The reliance on, and advancement of, these stereotypes, the authors say, subvert the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause.

Oh?

They call on lawmakers and educators to take steps to ensure they are not used in public school curricula.The authors also suggest a number of reforms they say policy makers and educators should consider.

Such as?

For example, they say that lawmakers should stop funding abstinence-only programs in favor of non-discriminatory, comprehensive sex education programs.

Ah, yes—of course:

Related

• Sin Makes You Stupid


• What Works and What Doesn't Work


• And They Expect to Be Taken Seriously?


• More Evidence that “Comprehensive” Sex Education Is a Bad Idea


• Have a Listen


• What Really Goes On In "Comprehensive" Sex Ed Class


• Very Sad


• When did Playboy Become Respectable?


• Abstinence Ed. Failure Story Debunked

On TV, Part 2

I mentioned a couple days ago that I was interviewed by a reporter for CLTV for a story dealing with teen pregnancy and the debate over abstinence education vs. so-called comprehensive sex education.

I can't seem to link directly to the story, but you can watch it by going here. Then, in the search field below the video screen, type in "teen pregnancy on the rise", and it should be the first result.

Commenter Autodidact noted that the story was pretty fair, and I'd have to agree (especially when one considers the Gomer Pyle Axiom of High and Low Expectations).

Interestingly, the interviewee representing the "other" side of the issue, Soo Ji Min, works for the Illinois Caucus of Adolescent Health (ICAH).

Two years ago, ICAH held its (adults-only) annual fundraiser at the Playboy offices. Last year, their (adults-only) fundraiser featured a stripper.

It's the economy values, stupid.

On TV

I just finished doing an interview with a reporter from CLTV for a story about abstinence education.

I'm told it will air on the 5:00pm news tonight. (Apparently the news also replays every half hour before 10:00pm.)

Trying (and Failing) to Look More Respectable

I posted this yesterday on the GFL blog:

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you might remember the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health (ICAH).

In partnership with Planned Parenthood, ICAH is part of a coalition called the Illinois Campaign for Responsible Sex Education. (ICAH and the ICRSE apparently operate out of the same office, as they have the same mailing address.)

The Campaign's goal is to strip all funding of abstinence education for Illinois schools and instead require them to use so-called comprehensive sex education programs.

You may also remember that two years ago, ICAH's annual fundraiser was held at the headquarters of Playboy magazine in downtown Chicago. I took part in a protest of the event, and wrote about it here.



Tickets to the adults-only event cost $75, and those who kicked in an extra $50 were also entitled to “a tour of the Playboy offices and art collection” as well as a VIP reception with Christie Hefner.



Christie Hefner (the daughter of Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy), has been its CEO since 1982. It was she who decided that the company could make more money by producing increasingly harder-core pornography — something that even her father was reluctant to do for a long time.

ICAH's 2007 fundraiser — also an adults-only event — featured a stripper and was held at "Chicago's premier liquor spa".

Sin Makes You Stupid

From last week's mockery of a sham of a joke of a Congressional hearing on abstinence education comes this telling Q & A that betrays the insanity of those who obdurately support The Bullwinkle Approach:



[HT: Jill Stanek]

A Logical Outcome of a Culture with an Anemic Understanding of What Sex Really Is

Considering that we live in a culture that assumes teaching abstinence is unrealistic, it certainly should come as no surprise when we hear stories like this one, headlined, "Report of student sex halts after-school club".

And let's not kid ourselves: this is hardly an isolated incident.

Now, if it's true that it's unrealistic to expect that kids will abstain — as so-called comprehensive sex education programs contend — that means it's always unrealistic to expect that kids will abstain.

In other words, if one generally assumes kids can't control their sexual desires, why would one assume that they can control them while they're in school?

Kids don't need lessons on how to have "safe sex" "safer sex".

Instead, what they really need is genuine love and affection. It's bleeding obvious that's what they're starving for.

[HT: Mark Shea]

"Punished with a Baby"?

Word is slowly beginning to get around — mostly via the pro-life, conservative, and Christian communities within this thing we call the Internet — about a telling remark Barack Obama made at a campaign stop this Saturday in Johnstown, PA. (Although considering his support for live-birth abortion, it's not at all surprising.)

The junior senator from our fair corrupt state was asked, if he were elected president, how his administration would deal with HIV/AIDS and preventing STDs in young girls.

Obama responded [emphasis added]:

-- or we give them really expensive surgery and we don't spend money on the front end keeping people healthy in the first place. So when it comes specifically to HIV/AIDS, the most important prevention is education, which should include -- which should include abstinence education and teaching the children -- teaching children, you know, that sex is not something casual. But it should also include -- it should also include other, you know, information about contraception because, look, I've got two daughters, 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals.

But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby. I don't want them punished with an STD at the age of 16. You know, so it doesn't make sense to not give them information.

First, regarding this last part: If Obama really is interested in not withholding information from teenagers that will help them avoid getting an STD, what kind of information is he talking about?

"This Time for Sure!"

If you've ever seen The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, you'll probably recognize the recurring scene in which:

...Bullwinkle would attempt to pull a rabbit out of a top hat (to Rocky's dismissal: "Again?!" or "But that trick never works!", and Bullwinkle's [response], "Nothing up my sleeve...Presto!" or "This time, for sure! Presto!"), only to pull out something unexpected instead (such as a bear), and occasionally even Rocky himself.

It's funny, because it's a cartoon, and nobody ever got hurt due to the fact that Bullwinkle was a slow learner.

What's not at all funny, though, is that for the past several decades, our culture has taken this same Bullwinkle approach ("This time for sure!") to promoting so-called "safe sex" "safer sex".

Condoms, condoms, more condoms, and even more condoms are the answer to preventing STDs, right?

What Works and What Doesn't Work

From LifeSite:

"Shoddy Research" in Study Claiming all Types of "Sex Ed" Delayed Teen Intercourse

Made no distinction between abstinence education and usual "comprehensive" sex ed

By Hilary White

WASHINGTON, December 19, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A new American study has implied that any or all types of "sex education" significantly delays the start of sexual activity in teens. But what some news media is downplaying is that the research made no distinction between abstinence education and more mainstream "comprehensive" sex education based on contraception.

In the study, students were understood to have received sex education if they had either or both types of instruction.

Read the whole thing.

Previous Related Coverage on the Generations for Life blog

• And They Expect to Be Taken Seriously?


• Sex Education Fundraiser to Feature Stripper


• More Evidence that “Comprehensive” Sex Education Is a Bad Idea


• Have a Listen


• What Really Goes On In "Comprehensive" Sex Ed Class


• Very Sad


• Playboy in Bed with “Comprehensive” Sex Ed


• When did Playboy Become Respectable?


• Abstinence Ed. Failure Story Debunked

[Cross-posted at Generations for Life]

Yes, Virginia, There Is Abstinence Education (And It Works)

Ruben at No Room for Contraception highlights a new study that demonstrates for the 1258392659812567th time that abstinence education really does work.

But don't hold your breath waiting for the MSM to report about it. (I tried; it wasn't a pretty sight.)

Let's Talk About Planned Parenthood

Earlier this week on the Generations for Life blog, I wrote about Planned Parenthood's disgustingly cynical and condescending attitude toward pro-life teenagers.

Last week on GFL, I wrote about Planned Parenthood/Chicago Area's connection with the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health (ICAH), a group that has featured pornographers and strippers at their annual fundraiser the past two years.

In that post, I mentioned that PP/CA and ICAH have formed a a coalition whose goal is to strip all funding of abstinence education for Illinois schools and require them to use so-called comprehensive sex education programs instead.

Yet Planned Parenthood calls itself a "trusted health care provider", and says it "has always made the health and safety of teens one of its top priorities" by, for example, providing contraception to teens and sponsoring and promoting "comprehensive" sex education programs.

Trusted health care provider, health and safety of teens, top priorities...

So they say.

On Wednesday, October 17th, I'll be giving a talk on the physical, emotional, and spiritual dangers of "comprehensive" sex education programs. The title of my talk is, simply: Don't Trust Planned Parenthood.

It will be held at St. Peter's Church in Geneva, IL, 1891 Kaneville Road (see map here) at 7:00pm.

My talk is open to high school age students.

At the same time, and at the same church, Patricia Bainbridge, chairman of Human Life International and the Respect Life Office Director for the Rockford Diocese, will be giving a talk on Planned Parenthood to adults.

A flyer with more information on the talks is available here [PDF].

You Can't Have It Both Ways

I'm thrilled to see that the press release: "Sex Ed Fundraiser to Feature Stripper" we issued last week has been picked up by a bunch of different sites.

Democratic Underground was one such site, and included this gem of a comment:

Folks, I REALLY have to know the answer to this one.

Have any of these so-called Christian Right people (who are not right, and don't really seem to be Christian either) ever had sex?

Well, let's see... All of my co-workers have children. One has one, one has two, two have seven, and one has eight.

And my wife and I have four.

You figure it out.

What makes a question like this one all the more boneheaded is that those of us who prefer not to goosesteppingly subscribe to the notion that Procreation Is Something To Be Avoided At All Costs are so often accused of being irresponsible because we actually enjoy having large numbers of kids.

Consider some of the, um, clarifying comments in response to this article -- originally published in The Nation (and which also mentions in passing that our "Contraception Is Not the Answer" conference last fall served "as a sort of coming-out party for the anticontraception movement" - what a compliment!):

What pisses me off is that I have to subsidize the breeding of little fanatics for the Holy War these people are planning. Credits, exemptions, dependents, property taxes...The list keeps growing.

If they keep clogging up the tax codes with kid-friendly stuff, we'll all have to have 50 kids, just so we can keep some of our paycheck.

And:

This movement is frightening. To top it off, they home-school their litters. Just perfect. Another way to dumb down an already diminished populations intelligence.

It's definitely a race issue, as well. If it weren't, they'd adopt all the children already here who need parents. Oops, most of those are minority or mixed race. Only Aryans qualify.

These people disgust me.

And:

The behaviour of these parents can be summed up in one word - and this is supported by most of the comments in the posts above. They are 'IRRESPONSIBLE'.

Anybody who brings into the world a child whom they cannot properly support - materially, spiritually and psychologically - cannot be described in any other way.

Sir Julian Huxley was right when he said that we cannot hide in the arms of an inscrutable God; yet that is exactly what these parents are claiming they can do.

And this one, which once again proves Godwin's Law:

This sounds much like the rhetoric used by the Nazis to promote their Aryan ideal. Women were encouraged to propagate to produce the Aryan warrior to take over the world.

Frightening stuff.

We're running out of land, fuel, etc. There are too many people on this planet already. It's selfish to have so many children.

The haters need to get their stories straight, 'cause they can't have it both ways. Either we "so-called Christian Right people" -- whatever that means -- never have sex, or we have too much non-contraceptive sex.

Which is it?

More Evidence That "Comprehensive" Sex Education Is a Bad Idea

The Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health is at it again.

In partnership with Planned Parenthood, ICAH is part of a coalition whose goal is to strip all funding of abstinence education for Illinois schools and instead require them to use condom-based sex education programs.

Last year, ICAH held its annual fundraiser at Playboy's executive offices.

That event -- view the invitation here [PDF] -- included a VIP reception with Playboy CEO Christie Hefner, the daughter of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. Several years ago, Christie decided that the company could make more money by producing increasingly harder-core pornography — something that even her father was reluctant to do for a long time.

This year, ICAH's annual fundraiser -- an adults-only event, of course, just like last year's -- is being held at Stone Lotus, "Chicago's premier liquor spa".

Hey, You - Listen to Me!

A few weeks ago, I was interviewed for a Catholic radio show that's broadcast on a Christian radio station in northeastern Oklahoma. In the interview, I talked about why so-called comprehensive sex education programs are a bad idea.

The interviewer, Cyndi Kane, has just informed me that the podcast is available here.

A few months ago, I spoke on this topic in greater detail at a pro-life youth conference my co-workers and I hosted in the Chicago area. CD copies of that talk, titled "What Are Adults Thinking? On 'Comprehensive' Sex Ed", can be ordered here [PDF].

Previous Related Coverage from My Other Blog:

• Playboy in Bed with “Comprehensive” Sex Ed


• What Really Goes On In "Comprehensive" Sex Ed Class


• Very Sad