- Under the guise of
a pluralistic society, liberals for years have argued that freedom of
choice necessitates everything from a right to abortion to smutty
television. Now a group of moms in Osseo,
Minnesota, have used that argument to get their public school system to
offer an abstinence-based sex education curriculum to students.
- According to an
article in World magazine parents grew concerned
about the singular "safer-sex" nature of the school system's sex-ed
message. Some moms felt that Osseo, a large suburb
of Minneapolis, needed a message of abstinence instead.
- At first, attempts
to change the normal "use condom" sex-ed approach into an
abstinence-based curriculum ran into problems. The
foes of traditional views on human sexuality had supporters with deep
pockets, namely Planned Parenthood and its ilk.
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- So these moms on a
mission decided to create an alternative lesson plan based on
abstinence, rather than trying to replace the "safer sex"
message. Now it was the traditionalists arguing for
freedom of choice, and their message of a more diverse offering for
students gained favor in the eves of the school
district. The message from these involved parents
was simple: "Right now, you're only meeting the needs of students who
are sexually
active. But 51% of our students choose to be
abstinent. These kids need support,
too. What are you doing to address their needs?"
- The school system
liked the idea, and agreed to let parents select either sex-ed track
for their own children starting this fall. Already
almost half of Osseo's junior high and a third of its senior high
students have signed up for the abstinence curriculum.
World, 9/11/99
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