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School Board Kills Abstinence Program 1/7/2005 Officials fear offending 'nontraditional’ families.
The Board of Education in Lansing, New York, voted December 16, 2004, to end an abstinence-based education program because critics complained that “nontraditional families” might be offended by the program’s emphasis on marriage.
The Ithaca Pregnancy Center (IPC), which presents the program to public middle school students, teaches them to make safe and healthy decisions about sex. Through humorous skits, the students learn of the health risks of sexual activity and are encouraged to save sex for marriage.
Although the IPC is sponsored by more than two dozen area churches, the program does not proselytize.
Critics of the program argued that the focus on marriage could upset children from nontraditional families. They also objected to the program being run by a church-affiliated organization. The mother of one student indicated she would prefer a program that teaches 8th graders to say no to sex for health reasons, rather than teaching them to say no to sex as a moral choice. Others objected to a skit in which a pair of dirty sneakers was used to symbolize lost virginity.
“The criticisms raised against the program totally lack merit. It defies credulity that seemingly intelligent adults would make them or buy into them,” said Jan LaRue, Concerned Women for America’s (CWA’s) chief counsel. “Responsible parents and public officials who bear the responsibility of acting in the best interests of students need to stand up to radical, irresponsible individuals, who’ve apparently checked their brains at the schoolhouse gate, and stop caving in to them.”
The program had been presented in numerous other public school districts, normally without incident, and with the approval of school health teachers.
Representatives of the IPC indicated they were willing to work with the community to revise the program. But the Board’s vote on December 16 killed the program, at least for now. The Board referred the controversial issue to a soon-to-be-formed health advisory committee likely to be made up of parents and staff.
According to Agape Press, Rhonda Mapes, IPC’s executive director, claims the Board was prompted to discard the program because of “Christianophobia.” She noted: “When people hear about negative consequences that can occur from their choices, they feel judged—and I think you and I know that’s called conviction.”
The controversy in Lansing is part of a larger trend in American society. Christians are finding that expressions of long-accepted moral values, whether in the form of school programs, Christmas events or similar lawful activities, are no longer welcome in a society that is losing its love for decency and Christianity and thus its ability to respect differences of opinion. When people of faith speak the truth, critics claim they are judging them and even engaging in “hate speech.”
The challenge for Christians will be to continue to speak the truth in love, despite the ever-increasing firestorm of controversy and the negative consequences they will likely suffer in our individual and collective lives.
But if we refuse to meet the challenge, we will become like the proverbial salt that has lost its flavor, or the light of the world that is placed under a bushel.
We must resolve to support one another, and organizations like CWA, in the fight for what is right.
Anne Downey is a Christian attorney who practices law with her husband in New York state. She is a member of the Christian Legal Society, an Alliance Defense Fund "ally," and is volunteering her services to CWA's Legal Studies Department.
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Concerned Women for America 1015 Fifteenth St. N.W., Suite 1100 Washington, D.C. 20005 Phone: (202) 488-7000 Fax: (202) 488-0806 |
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