Ok, by know everyone who is a news junkie has heard the story going on in Portland, Maine. A Middle school (grades 6-8) has decided to allow a school health center to give girls as young as 11 access to birth control pills. Story here.
This is insane! First off, isn’t it against the law for 11 yr olds to have sex to begin with? Who are these girls having sex with? Why the hell is this decision acceptable to the good people of Maine? Here is a story from Baylor University that actually supports this measure. The author makes the point that “At some point in a child's life, the "birds and bees talk" will no longer do. Curiosity and temptation will creep in. And then what?”. Is that the best we can do? Basically throw in the towel on what obviously makes the most moral sense (keeping instilling children with definitive guardrails that offer them the chance to avoid temptation) and instead promote a lackadaisical attitude amongst society and children as a whole and tacitly promote dangerous and unhealthy behavior? Maine should be ashamed of itself for not instead seeing that the culture is working against parents trying to raise their children how they see fit and instead assuming the role of parent and confidant toward the children in their charge.
The columnist from Baylor continues with this witty statement “The ultimate decision whether to engage in premarital sexual relations lies with the child, not her parents.” Recall that Maine is talking about girls as young as 11 here. I feel that with all the other crap that parents need to deal with, you would think that the school would take a more aggressive stance for the parents rights to have some say in the matter as to whether or not they feel their child should have the tools (no pun intended) to have sex “safely”. One of the arguments for the decision in Maine is that some kids may not feel comfortable talking to their parents about sex and would feel differently talking to some nameless clinic worker whose agenda is questionable at best.
This is not a battle to give up on but instead to realize that there are a lot of external threats to traditional (or functional) parenting. What is next, passing out drugs to take the edge off unruly kids so the teachers have an easier time controlling their kids? I mean kids are going to act up no matter what a parent says and quite frankly the ultimate decision whether to engage in classroom disruptive behavior lies with the child, not the parents. Parents should understand (if they don’t) that this is not compassion and understanding that is being sold to them and their kids. It is a noose by which the children’s innocence and values will be hung on.
Why not instead reinforce the joy of delaying sexual activity? What is wrong with that? Why do we want kids to have sex? What benefit does that serve? If the issue is all the middle school pregnancies that are occurring (17 in the last 5 years) shouldn’t the focus be on ways to curb the behavior and not encourage it? I am waiting for some answers on these questions.
Columnist Michael Coren writing in the Toronto Sun online has a great point that I would like to quote (about the “pill” solution):
“On an ideological level, the Pill was supposed to liberate women and give them control over their bodies.
Instead it has empowered irresponsible men who can insist on sexual intercourse because, after all, "if you love me you will and anyway you can't get pregnant." “
Well said Michael! Basically this decision in Maine does not see sexual intercourse as having any other meaning than above the animal level (up there with eating, drinking and of course using the bathroom). Instead of encouraging children to elevate themselves they provide the tools for children to act on their basest instincts and act with no responsibility to their actions.
Aren’t they (and we) better than that? If not, we should be.
Outspoken Roman
No comments:
Post a Comment