Faith Into Action with Pregnant Women in Crisis

I keep coming back to the idea that we need to put more focus on helping the pregnant women in crisis to make it through their pregnancies, to either give birth to their babies or give birth and then give for  adoption. So here is my suggestion for the day.

                    

Do something big or small. Be a friend. Invite a single mom to lunch. Offer to babysit some time. Talk to others - Is there a woman in the area who needs help with the challenges of her crisis pregnancy? Help your local pregnancy crisis center, maternity home, or homeless shelter.

~Added 09/04/2020 

I encourage everyone to use hashtags when it makes sense.

#BeHereTomorrow      #LetThereBeLife

#WeLikeThemBoth     #Pregnancy

#StopAbortion             #ProLife and #ProChoice

image - https://www.facebook.com/lettherebelife1/

.

Sex Education in Schools

 Dr. Jordan Peterson says the government should get out of sex education altogether.

I agree.

image - https://thebridgehead.ca/2019/01/08/dr-jordan-peterson-says-the-government-should-get-out-of-sex-education-altogether/

Like/Follow a New Facebook Page!

I recently reached a point of frustration with the international denial of what abortion entails. So I started a Facebook Page entitled, "Let's Stop Killing Babies in the Womb." [To reflect a broader ProLife coverage, the name has since been changed to "Let There Be Life."]

It starts in the womb. The only way to abort a pregnancy or abort a baby is by killing the baby. There is just no getting around it. By using vocabulary that reflects what really happens, truth and awareness can permeate our society and eventually lead more people to support Life.

Of course, ProLife isn't only about saving a baby; it's about raising a child. So tangential efforts include developing more efficient and loving adoption alternatives, getting pregnant women groceries and vitamins if they cannot afford them, guiding them in getting driver's licenses, health insurance for all involved. And more. Maybe you can help?

We are called by God and by each other to treat pregnant women in crisis with dignity. Telling them the truth is a good start. I hope you join the conversation. Click here.

Blessings,
Kathleen+

 New Facebook Page

Let's Stop Killing Babies in the Womb 

[To reflect a broader ProLife coverage, the name 
has since been changed to "Let There Be Life."]


 

https://www.facebook.com/lettherebelife1/

image - FB Page

Drawings & Video Representations Help People Find the Truth About Abortion

Watch people change their minds after they see a video (not shown) of an abortion procedure.
https://www.facebook.com/lilagracerose/videos/216910952552747/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wonder what they watched? Most likely something similar to these:

1) Video representation of a...First Trimester Surgical Abortion


2) Video representation of an...Abortion Procedure with Sopher Clamp Explained - Twenty Weeks Into the Pregnancy


3) Schematic:

These depictions may be unsettling, and you may want to turn your head away, but it is reality and we must expose the horrors of abortion if we are going to end it. That is how we ended the Holocaust.

We [two single people] Had Sex. Now What?

I like this article below. It acknowledges our shortcomings and helps us to renew our faith!

So many other articles talk about how to strengthen yourself from ever falling short of the Catholic mark. It is all good information, but the reality is that people do fall short - and then struggle with how to recoup. This article helps.

https://www.catholicmatch.com/institute/2017/05/we-had-sex-now-what/



image - http://blog.seekingmillionaire.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/too-picky-when-dating.png

Mourning My Loved Ones Lost to Abortion

Below is a post I wrote back in 2010. I re-post it now because my heart has been actively aching lately, for the aborted children I personally knew in some way before they were taken from us. 

For me, anti-abortion work (which falls under the ProLife umbrella) had deeper meaning when it dawned on me that I knew real-life babies who were involved. As I mention in my original post, a co-worker, two of my friends, and two of my close relatives faced crisis pregnancies and chose to have abortions. More specifically, they chose to end the lives of the babies they themselves helped create. Focusing on my relations with them, they chose to end the lives of children with whom I would have played and taken care of. They were children for whom I would have made and decorated birthday cakes. Our decisions impact others. In this case, I am left to process my grief and mourning rather than my joy and celebration. I know, I am not one of the parents, so my feelings are secondary, but secondary does not mean negligible or worthless.

Here is my original post.

A Repost of September 20, 2010

.

I am not talking about mourning my loved ones who had a chance at life on earth.  I am talking about mourning the babies in my life who never had a chance to begin with.  More specifically, I am talking about the never-born babies of my coworker, my two friends, and two of my relatives.  They were all aborted at some point, and today, I miss them.

Why today, I do not know, but I do know my grief is real.  I was overwhelmed with it in Daily Mass this morning.  A vision flashed before me.  My "niece" and "nephew" and the other "children" were playing in a field, laughing.  Tears literally came to my eyes.  I will never get to know them, and they will never get to know me, or anyone else, even their very own parents. 

Abortion is often close to home, as it is with me.  That is because it is so prevalent and cuts across all boundaries in society, e.g. poor, rich, black, white, younger, older.  It is one of the biggest kept secrets.  Of course, the genders are not really known, but they were in my vision.  Girl, girl, boy, girl, boy.  God touched me and I wept because they were not with us.

This is one of the less talked about effects of abortion.  Mourning, I mean.  Mourning.  Mourning like Mary mourned at the foot of the cross when Jesus was taken down dead.  It does not matter that the child was never born and never had a body like we all have.  The mourning still occurs.  I am witness to it, and I am not even closest to these children.  I can only imagine what their parents experience.

I doubt that abortion clinics tell the young women and men that they will mourn the loss of their aborted one some day, or that their relatives will mourn the loss as well.  No.  The aborted babies are not considered people.  They are not considered flesh and blood.  They are inconveniences and money makers to the abortion clinic.  Their loss, no, their murder, is job security for the staff.

I hope God continues to bring these visions to me.  I hope He overwhelms me again and again with grief like this.  It keeps me in touch with the horror of abortion, and it keeps my ProLife conviction alive.  It also brings compassion in my heart for all those involved, directly or indirectly.

If you or someone you know is mourning the loss of an aborted child, consider Project Rachel.  There is hope after an abortion.  "It's normal to grieve a pregnancy loss, including the loss of a child by abortion. It can form a hole in one's heart, a hole so deep that sometimes it seems nothing can fill the emptiness."

Kathleen

.

 image - https://thinkingonscripture.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/mourn-tears.jpg

Keep Calm and Stay Catholic

Reprint from May 31, 2013 - It is still valuable and fitting today.

I'm Gay, but I'm Not Switching to a Church That Supports Gay Marriage
With so many options for gay Christians, why stick with the Catholic church?

The article is about Eve Tushnet, the author, consciously choosing to stay within the Catholic Church, even though she is gay. Her insight goes beyond the immediate topic of being gay.  She presents her reasoning in such a way that its effect is universal.  For example, I am a single heterosexual and I am faced with the same teachings on living the celibate life, as gay folks are faced with - and, like Eve Tushnet, the author of the article above, I am sticking around.  Not only am I sticking around, I am joyful to be living by the Church's Teachings. 

A lot of folks are sticking around even though they are faced with tough situations:
- Folks who cannot have children naturally and are tempted by In Vitro Fertilization. 
- Folks who are tired from being a parent and want to get vasectomies or use artificial contraception.
- Folks who are overwhelmed by an unexpected crisis pregnancy and are tempted to abort the baby.

All of these folks choose to remain Catholic and use their Faith to overcome their temptations, instead of abandoning the Faith to avoid them.  That is what love and charity are about.  That is what it means to live the spiritual life.  That is what Eve Tushnet is role modeling for the rest of us.

images - http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/p/keep-calm-and-stay-catholic-7/
http://www.stjoeparish.org/youth/YEvents.html

Excerpts from "What I Didn't Know When I Stopped Having Sex"

My original post was on Facebook. Thank you, Tori, for your sharing.

"What I Didn't Know When I Stopped Having Sex"

     "...No one told me that sleeping with that guy from the bar would leave me feeling more empty than I thought possible. No one told me that it would make me feel more unworthy and more alone. No one told me that with each one-night stand, my heart was building up walls that would keep everyone out. No one told me that allowing men access to my body would make it seemingly impossible to receive a hug, hear someone tell me that I ambeautiful, or let myself be loved."

     "I stopped having sex and you have the freedom as well...."

     "... despite what the world was telling me, I could stop having sex. I could save it for the proper context and I could regain the part of me that is so precious."

     "The battle is to claim a new life in Christ and to shed away the masks of false identity."

     "...I learned that while on His cross, the Lord saw all those lonely nights when I lay in bed wondering if this is as good as it gets. He bore the pain of my wounds and today allows me to live in the freedom which He has promised."

                                                                                             ~ Tori Vissat, Shalom Tidings, Oct/Nov 2015

To read Tori's article in its entirety, go to to the full article here.

God Bless,
Kathleen +


image - http://madeinhisimage.org/whatididntknowwhenistoppedhavingsex-2/

Premarital Sex or Fornication?

I say all this from a simple place.  That is, I didn't do anything like research the etymologies of the words involved.

I like to call "it" premarital sex rather than fornication. (Just check my labels for this blog.)  First, most people I know do not have the word, fornication, in their every day vocabulary, so it's definition is not second nature to most of the world (most of the world I know, anyhow.  ;) Second, premarital sex is a more direct reminder that sex is tied to marriage, marriage of the two people involved, who may already be married to someone else.

Having said that, I recently read a blog post you will want to read:

I will not teach my kids about safe sex because there is no such thing
by Matt Walsh

It's a little on the long side, but it's worth reading the whole thing, and then forwarding it to others you know, even those that participate in premarital sex while living together, or not. Use your best judgment.


This is my favorite way to respond in these situations:

image - http://www.bible.ca/oral-birth-control-NO.gif

Spread the Good News

I have seen a string of articles and blog entries with a positive spin.  It's been refreshing because not too long ago, it seemed like all there was was bad news.  Here are some of the articles I have read lately.  Enjoy!

1) I Am in the Same Week of Pregnancy as My Birthmom, Who Tried to Abort Me  

2) Act of forgiveness: Mom hugs daughter's killer in court

3) Pro-Life Miss USA Contestant Was Conceived in Brutal Rape, Glad She Wasn't Aborted

4) Seven Famous People Who Were Almost Aborted

5) H.S. Salutatorian Defies School Administration, Speaks of His Christian Faith  

6) Supreme Court Rules Pro-Life Group Can Defend Its Free Speech Rights

7) Abortion Survivor Finds Doctor Who Aborted Her Twin Brother – You Won’t Believe What Happened

Let's end with a quote from Saint John Chrysostom:
"Your children will always be sufficiently wealthy if they receive from you a good upbringing that is able to order their moral life and behavior.  Thus, strive not to make them rich, but rather to make them pious masters of their passions - rich in virtues."


image - http://www.upbeatcontemporarychoir.com/resources/upbeat%20logo.JPG

I Am The 51-Year-Old Who Wrote To The 14-Year-Old

Warning:  Graphic language in title of article

I read this article today:

I'm The 14-Year-Old Who Wrote The "Jesus Isn't A Dick So Keep Him Out of My Vagina" Sign In Texas And Was Labeled A "Whore" By Strangers Online

 

Then I wrote to the author:

 

Dear Tuesday,

You write, "I know someone who has had a few abortions. She now says that abortion is bad and she fights against a woman's right to choose." Listen to her. She knows what she's talking about.

As for the mother's right to choose, she has always had the right and always will -- to choose to engage in sex.  That is where the choice begins. She knows the consequences before she engages, and if she wants to be seen as a mature woman, she should either accept the consequences of her decision by giving birth to her baby if she becomes pregnant, or she should not engage in sex at all.

I am praying for you, Tuesday.  I am sure a lot of other people are too. I am hopeful that you will eventually have a conversion (hopefully before you have any abortions yourself) and realize the primary fight of ProLifers is for the baby's right to life.  The woman already has one.

Just remember that someone honored your right to life and brought you to where you are today.  Would you really want to go back in time and ask your mother to consider aborting you? Peace.

image - http://www.mdrtl.org/aboutus.html

Paul Murano, A Breath of Fresh Air

Just read his latest article about sex and death:

Two Women, One Trend: A reflection of our culture today

http://valleypatriot.com/two-women-one-trend-a-reflection-of-our-culture-today/

image - http://glitterbuggy.blogspot.com/2010/08/day-20-breath-of-fresh-air.html

Springfield, MA School District Hoping For Free Condoms For Children 12 & Over

"Children as young as 12 in one Massachusetts city are one step closer to getting access to free condoms at school...School officials in Springfield this week approved a measure that got the ball rolling on the plan, aimed at fighting teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, The Republican newspaper reported."  For full article, click here

Oh boy.  Well I've explained my position on this in a previous blog entry from February 14, 2011, so I'll just repeat it here.

"On the other hand, Chris Pham, a member of the Boston chapter of Pure In Heart, which is a Catholic chastity group, claims that, 'Teens [and younger children] are being misled into believing that they can strap on a condom, have sex with whomever, and be safe.'

Chris hit it on the nose: Chastity and abstinence are the missing elements here. Students should be taught about living a chaste life, developing the strength to avoid temptations, saving themselves for marriage, and having true self-esteem.

'Teens [and younger children] are being misled into believing that

they can strap on a condom, have sex with whomever, and be safe.'

With free condoms and sex education supporting goodness in that, teens [and younger children] are thinking condoms are the ticket to indulging in underage and premarital sex. I definitely disagree with that, and C.J. Doyle, Director of Catholic Action League, states it well, 'Condom distribution sends the wrong message to students that sexual activity before marriage is normative.'"

This could very well become a reality soon.
Pretty scarey.

Other Related Blog Entries:
Condoms for First Graders
When You Sow Contraception, You Reap Abortion
More Condom Talk in Massachusetts Schools
More Condom Talk in Massachusetts Schools, Part II



image - http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8QCmkk157tw/S7GfM6G70qI/AAAAAAAAApo/yjsb-TsTitQ/s1600/small_my%2520first%2520condoms.jpg

Nicki and Tyler

I just watched a refreshing video clip about a young couple, Nicki and Tyler, who talk about their discernment process regarding the nature of their relationship.  It's worth a watch.

Click here



image - http://stpatrickcatholic.org/jblum/projects/projects/

Separating The Sin From The Sinner - Part 2

Yes, God loves gay people, He certainly does, but He does not like their immoral sexual behavior, just as He does not like the immoral sexual behavior of men and women living together without being married, or the immoral sexual behavior of spouses who cheat on their wives.

He loves the gay person, He loves the cohabitators, and He loves the adulterers, but He does not like their illicit behavior.

For those who don't believe in God, this topic can be considered from the angle of natural law instead.  Here is a series of recent articles that may be helpful.  What Does it Mean to be a 'Political Animal'?, Moral Absolutes and the Humpty Dumpty Fallacy, and Who’s Afraid of Metaphysics? by Matthew O'Brien and Robert C. Koons.
=============================================================

Every now and then, I hear statements about Catholics discriminating against homosexuals.  When that happens, I take the opportunity to clarify things.  This is what I wrote recently:

"...you mentioned to 'discriminate against homosexuals in the confines of your religion is your right.'  If you meant to use the word discriminate, pejoratively, you have it wrong, from the perspective of the religion anyhow. Catholicism does not discriminate against homosexuals. Catholicism believes homosexual behavior is immoral, and therefore, does not condone the behavior. The persons are welcome, just like anyone else. The behavior is not, just like any other behavior that is considered immoral in the religion's eyes, e.g. lying, stealing, gossiping, adultery, etc. All people are welcome, all sins are not. Some behaviors are considered venial sins; some are considered grave. All can be reconciled with confession and true contrition. I will say, though, that Catholic individuals themselves are human, and do discriminate against homosexuals perjoratively, that's for sure, but again, it's a love the sinner, hate the sin kind of thing. All sinners are welcome. Thank God there is the Sacrament of Reconciliation, i.e. Confession, to help people try to get back on track."

Like all other humans, Catholics err when it comes to this, but I doubt it is any more than teachers in public schools, athletic coaches, parents, prisoners, etc.  The bottom line is that we try to get back on track when we sin in this area, and in every other area, at least those who seek spiritual direction or go to Confession regularly.

It is unfortunate that people misinterpret applying consequences for immoral behavior as discrimination against a person.  If that were the case, all parents would be guilty of discriminating against their children, since they must point out and not allow their immoral/bad behavior. 

Separate the sin from the sinner.  Hate the sin, love the sinner.  These are the proper attitudes and behaviors for not only Catholics, but for everyone.  As mentioned in Part 1, how to live these concepts out is not always easy, but we must start with it as our intention, and hold steadfast to love.

Some gay people believe it too, as they realize heterosexuals are human and deserving of love, despite any errors on their part. >>>


Kathleen




image - http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/does-god-really-hate-gay-ppl/question-118395/?link=ibaf&imgurl=http://avoicenoecho.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/god_loves_gay_people.jpg&q=love%2Bhomosexual%2Bhate
http://toppun.com/Specials/GAY-PRIDE-BUTTON-SPECIAL-Love-the-Heterosexual-Hate-the-Sin.html.

Separating The Sin From The Sinner - Part 1

This idea is a cornerstone to Catholicism, as well as to other religions.  It is a basic tenet we all need to not only know, but know how to carry out, in order to live at peace with each other and with each others' sinfulness.  You may have heard it expressed this way as well, "Hate the sin, love the sinner."  The behavior/sin has to be separated out from the person/sinner.  It's part of forgiveness.

So here I am.  A younger relative of mine recently moved in with her boyfriend.  It's not the first time they have slept together under the same roof, in the same room, in the same bed.  They've done it when they visited each other in the past.  Now, though, they are doing it uninterruptedly, renting a place together, food shopping together, house decorating together, and even writing notes from "us".  Are you married or aren't you?   It is much more uncomfortable than I expected.

I have had thoughts of not wanting to visit them.  I have also had thoughts of asking them when they are going to stop pretending to be married, and actually get married.  Never mind the thoughts about all the fornicating going on, and the use of artificial contraception. 

How do I love the two of them in this instance?  How do I hate their cohabitating, fornicating and contracepting, while I love the two persons involved?  It is not easy.  Separate the sin from the sinner.  Hate the sin, love the sinner.  It sounds so easy, but those suggestions are packed with challenges I could never have foreseen.

I brought them a bag of groceries.  Am I illicit in their sin?  I was invited to stay with them a couple days.  I'd like to save money, so it is tempting, but I can't do that.  They may be pretending they are married, but I can't pretend.  I got a note the other day, from the both of them.  Since when did he start writing to me?  I know they are ignorant about the impact their pretending to play house has on others, but I can't help my interior reactions of frustration, of fear (the divorce rate for couples who live together before getting married is higher than an already high rate), of anger (if they get pregnant, will they abort the baby?), and of humility (I can't control the world).

Hate the sin, love the sinner.  Sounds easy, but when it is face to face in your life in a serious way, it is challenging.  I don't know exactly how I will handle each situation that arises.  Honesty with compassion is the modus operandi I strive for, but since I am a sinner, too, I am sure I will have to frequent the confessional myself.

Kathleen

.
image - http://www.zazzle.com/hate_the_sin_love_the_sinner_mk_gandhi_mug-168973483000872939
*Some details have been changed to protect the identities of those involved.
.

Sex Talk

.
Copyright (c) 2010 originally published in The Valley Patriot, reprinted with permission. I added the pictures. 

So, You Want to Have Sex?
By Kathleen Laplante

And you want to have it before you are married. Let’s talk about that.

Why do you want to have sex?
Why do you want to have it before you are married?

Why don’t you just wait until you are married?

Ok, you want to have sex now. With whom do you want to have sex?
Do you want to lose your virginity with someone you most likely will not marry?
Do you mind losing your virginity in the backseat of a car, or in some basement?

What if the girl gets pregnant?

No birth control is 100% effective. With the Pill, there is a 1%-4% chance it will be unreliable and you will conceive a child. With the condom, there is a 2%-13% chance. It is like Russian roulette. You never know when you will get the bullet.

She won’t get pregnant? Do you know how many teenagers were using artificial contraception and got pregnant unexpectedly?

Are you ready to take on the responsibility of becoming a parent?
Where will you live? How will you pay rent? What about health insurance for the baby?
Who will get a job? Will you leave school?
She might have to live in a shelter.
What will you do if she breaks up with you? If she leaves town?

Oh, you won’t have to worry about any of that because she will get an abortion.
How do you know she will want to get an abortion?
What will you do if she decides to carry the pregnancy to term? 

First Semester Abortion Procedure

Do you even know what an abortion is?
Do you know that it involves killing an innocent child?
Don’t be fooled by those who say it’s just a zygote, or embryo or fetus. Science confirms that human life begins at the moment of conception, so that zygote, embryo and fetus make up stages of a person’s life. One stage is as important as another. In fact, if I chose to have an abortion and kill off the zygote, embryo and fetus that you came from, you wouldn’t be here today. No zygote, no toddler or teenager. Our lives are a continuum, deserving of dignity at all stages.

Do you know the risks associated with the abortion procedure?
Who will pay for it?
What if she gets sick after. Will you take care of her?

What about the fetus? Will you bury it?
Women who have miscarriages do that.
Will you invite your friends to the funeral?
Will you visit the grave site after?

How will you pay for counseling when you struggle later in life with grief, anger and sorrow?

What will you do if your baby survives abortion?


Gianna Jessen

 That will never happen? Gianna Jessen survived abortion. A chemical solution was injected into her mother’s womb. It was supposed to burn Gianna inside and out, until she died, and was then expelled. But she did not die. She came out alive. An attending nurse saw her and got her to safety. Gianna is now an adult who speaks out against abortion. This is what she said in her 2008 address to the Parliament House in Victoria, Australia. “There was not a radical feminist, standing up and yelling about how my rights had been violated that day. In fact my life was being snuffed out in the name of women’s rights.”


Imagine if this exchange took place before parents handed their children a condom or a prescription for the Pill. The discussion might be so revealing and so exhausting for the child that they change their mind about having sex before marriage.

It’s definitely worth a shot.
__________________________________

Kathleen Laplante is a member of the Catholic Church. She has two sons and can be reached at klaplante2@yahoo.com

Copyright (c) 2010 originally published in The Valley Patriot, reprinted with permission. I added the pictures.

Of course, these ideas can also be used with adults, for we know many are fornicating and/or involved in extramarital affairs with married persons.

.
image - http://www.buddytv.com/teen-mom.aspx
http://survivors.la/first-trimester-abortion-procedures.asp
http://redwhitebluenews.com/?p=5906
http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/y/young_ladies.asp 
.

More Condom Talk In Massachusetts Schools, Part II

.

Boston Students & Parents Meeting w/the
Boston School Committee

Well, the meeting took place between the Boston School Committee and students last night.  Click here for background information.  This is the comment I left at the bottom of today's article in the Boston Globe.


"While I appreciate people's efforts in trying to reduce the rates of unplanned pregnancies and STD's, I am disheartened by the approaches being sought by both the students and adults involved here.

Comprehensive sex education is probably Planned Parenthood (PP) type of sex education (Have you seen they have recently been exposed for sex trafficking of minor girls?). What is PP sex education? It is one where the students are told that they cannot control themselves, that they are bound to have sex, so here, take the Pill or take these condoms or whatever other contraception they give out.

This is a fallacy. First, no contraception is 100% safe from pregnancy or STD's. Yes, the Pill may have only a 1% to 2% risk of pregnancy, but it is a highly loaded risk. We're talking pregnancy. Do we really want to take chances with that? Also, people do not know if they are in the 1% range or 99% range; so they could be the next one to get pregnant while on the Pill.

Back to comprehensive sex education. Chastity, high self-esteem, saving yourself for marriage, etc. is the only education that gets to the root of the real problems with unplanned pregnancies and STD's. If students want to have sex, then we need to be asking them, 'So, You Want to Have Sex?' and all the questions that follow that. See page 27 of The Valley Patriot's Februaray issue - http://www.valleypatriot.com/2011FEB/FEB2011all.pdf

That article is not comprehensive, but it is a good start.

Also, if it is comprehensive sex/chastity education, then Natural Family Planning and other non-contraceptive approaches to planning families should be included.

Chris Pham stated it well, when he said, 'Teens are being misled into believing that they can strap on a condom, have sex with whomever, and be safe.'

I hope school committees and students and parents start taking a more holistic approach to this incredibly important social issue.

Kudos to all parties for dialoguing, even if it's the wrong content.

Kathleen Laplante"

.
image - http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2011/02/16/teens_ask_for_more_sex_ed_greater_condom_availability/
.

More Condom Talk In Massachusetts Schools

.

Someone asked me today to write to the Boston School Committee.  They had seen my recent article in The Valley Patriot, entitled, So, You Want to Have Sex?  (go to page 27) and they wanted me to send it to the Committee for their meeting tomorrow night, so I did.

Tomorrow night, the Committee will be meeting with some students who asked to be heard about their request for better sex education and access to free condoms in their schools.  Yikes!

On the plus side, the students are proactively thinking about things in this arena.   That is always good.  In this case, they are driven by their concern for an increase in teen pregnancy and STD's.  On the negative side, the students are approaching things in the wrong way.

To demonstrate the nature of the opposing views, here are quotes from both sides.  Samantha Brea, a 17-year-old student, claims that, “Condom availability would teach kids how to be healthy individuals."* On the other hand, Chris Pham, a member of the Boston chapter of Pure In Heart, which is a Catholic chastity group, claims that, “Teens are being misled into believing that they can strap on a condom, have sex with whomever, and be safe."*

Chris hit it on the nose:Chastity and abstinence are the missing elements here.  Students should be taught about living a chaste life, developing the strength to avoid temptations, saving themselves for marriage, and having true self-esteem.

“Teens are being misled into believing that they can strap

on a condom, have sex with whomever, and be safe."*

With free condoms and sex education supporting goodness in that, teens are thinking condoms are the ticket to indulging in underage and premarital sex.  I definitely disagree with that, and C.J. Doyle, Director of Catholic Action League, states it well, “Condom distribution sends the wrong message to students that sexual activity before marriage is normative."*

Let's hope headway will be made here, unlike in Provincetown, MA last year.  Click here

* articles - Parents, kids should be ‘enthusiastic’ about conversation, By Colneth Smiley Jr.  
Students: Let’s talk about sex, By Jessica Fargen and Colneth Smiley Jr.

image - http://thissideofthewall.com/2010/05/lets-talk-about-sex-now/
.

GARDASIL and Better Homes and Gardens Being Irresponsible

.

When I first saw this ad in the November issue of Better Homes and Gardens, I thought it was for some dental treatment that makes your child and the whole family happy. Wrong. It's for a drug to stop cervical cancer, genital warts and other disease one may get as a result of contracting HPV, Human Papillo Virus.

HPV is a sexually transmitted disease, as in STD. It is not some casual virus where people just have to cover their mouths when they sneeze so they don't get it. No, it requires one to be sexually active.

This ad implies that having sex outside of marriage at a very young age is the norm. Now maybe it is, but it is not one that should be promoted.

It is everyone's responsibility to enforce the notion that pre-marital sex is not a good idea, especially when you're 10 years old, like the children appear to be in this ad.

GARDASIL and Better Homes and Gardens are being irresponsible here, in the way they have chosen to advertise. It is not unlikely that a young child might peruse this magazine and come across this ad, which implies, "Go ahead, have sex, we'll be there for you afterward."

I think they, and all similar ads, should have to do what cigarette ads do. Warn people that sexual activity outside of marriage, especially at very young ages, can result in psychological problems later on, never mind that it can result in parenthood.

Do you want your 10 year-old to think this is cool?


For more information, go to Centers of Disease Control and Prevention


.
image - Better Homes and Garden Magazine, November 2010


.