catastrophe. At this time in her life, she shouldnât be concerned about anything more serious than finals.
The second catastrophe was her sentiment: âThe pleasure I had was worth it.â
Worth it? Whatâs she talking about?
Didnât she have the concerns I always hear: When was I infected, last week or last year? and Who was it, Kenny or Ron? Should I tell my current partner, or my future ones? What about Mom and Dad? What does dysplasia mean, anyhow? Could I really get . . . cancer ?
Was this young woman aware, I wondered, of all the possible ramifications? While itâs true that most HPV seems to clear, sheâll never knowâis the virus gone, or just dormant? Had anyone told her that having one sexually transmitted disease (STD) makes her more vulnerable to others, including HIV? That being on the pill could increase her risk, and that pregnancy can re-activate the virus?
All this, yet âthe pleasure was worth itâ?
I guess she felt that sex trumps everything, even health. It was all about pleasure, even if it ends in disease. Where did this thinking come from?
Back to the Source
According to a 2008 report from the federal Centers for Disease Control, she has plenty of company: one in four adolescent girls in the United States has a sexually transmitted infection. 4 When that fact hit the news, parents were horrified, health experts were shocked, and the CDC called it âa wake-up call.â 5
A statement was issued by the president of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS). The figures, it said, were âstaggeringâ and âdisturbingâ; they represented an âinexcusable failure.â 6
Their reaction reminded me of a scene in the classic film Casablanca . You know, that famous line in which Captain Renault tells Rick he is âshockedâ shocked! âto find that gambling is going on in here,â and then quietly collects his winnings.
One in two sexually active youth will contract an STD by age 25. 29
That 3.2 7 million American girls have a sexually transmitted infection should come as no shock, especially to SIECUS and its main cohorts, Advocates For Youth (AFY) and Planned Parenthood. This pandemic is a direct consequence of their vision and ideals.
These groups claim to provide âcomprehensive accessâ to âaccurateâ sex education. Take a look, though, at their curricula, their guides for teachers and parents, andâmost disturbingâthe websites to which they direct your kids: youâll see how young people are infused with a grotesque exaggeration of the place of sexuality. Promiscuity, experimentation, and fringe behaviors are encouraged. For them, these are personal choices, and judgments are prohibited. At all ages, sexual freedom is a âright,â an issue of social justice. In short, they are dedicated to promoting radical social ideologies, not preventing disease.
That one in four teens has a sexually transmitted infection (STI) is deeply troubling, yes, but it shouldnât come as a surprise. Whatâs astonishing is the madness called âsexuality education.â Until these programs are recognized as irresponsible and dishonest, young people, especially girls, will continue to pay an awful price.
Sex education is comprised of a vast network of programs with Planned Parenthood, Advocates for Youth, and SIECUS at its center. Consequently, every parent should check their childâs school curricula for the full picture.
Madness is a strong word, but the more I learn what our children are taught, and when , the more I stand by that choice.
Parents, have you heard what our kids are told? Have you seen whatâs put in front of them? I thought it was illegal to make indecent material available to minors. You think MTV is vulgar? I suggest you explore the material sex educators have created for kids.
Take a look at Planned Parenthoodâs
Joss Ware
Claudia Winter
Andrew Neiderman
David Wailing
Harold Schechter
J. F. Gonzalez
Elizabeth Crook
Dean Koontz
Frank Hayes
Peter Watts, Greg Egan, Ken Liu, Robert Reed, Elizabeth Bear, Madeline Ashby, E. Lily Yu