Classroom Information vs. Reality

from e-mail -

You can't believe everything you read in newspapers, hear on TV, or hear in the classroom.

As part of abstinence-only sex education, which the present administration is pouring $170 million into annually, young people are being told many things that are totally untrue, or in the words of one expert "is a bunch of hooey."

For example, the mandated classroom materials warn that touching another's genitals "can result in pregnancy."

It is also flatly states that condoms fail to prevent HIV transmission one-third of the time. (Actually, studies find that, if properly used, condoms are nearly always effective in blocking HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.)

This anti-condom view is straight out of the Religious Right's handbook, and, unfortunately, it's resulting in spreading diseases such as AIDS.

This is especially true in third-world countries where the U.S. anti-condom stance is resulting in hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of deaths.

These hundreds-of-millions in tax dollars are also behind many abstinence campaigns, even though research shows that most young people who take abstinence pledges beak them — most within two years of signing them.

Plus, research shows that these young people are least prepared to use safe sex measures, resulting in a higher than normal incidence of sexual disease and unwanted pregnancies.

This sex-is-sin logic is behind the "refusal" laws of twelve states that now allow pharmacists who personally oppose contraception to refuse to fill prescriptions for birth control.

Ovarian cancer takes thousands of lives, but we now have a vaccine that is almost 100% effective and there are no known side effects.

But it's introduction is being opposed by those who feel it might encourage "sexual sin."

Again, we have a situation where a vocal minority apparently feel that sexual "sin" is worse than death.

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