Monday, September 08, 2008

A dose of common sense

Pastor Patrick Shaffer of Chicago's City of Faith Christian Church spoke a few words of common sense which I want to recognize.

The Palin candidacy for Vice President has brought to the forefront a myriad of issues for all Americans to consider: gender, equality, and now parenting and responsible discourse on teen sex. It may be ironic that the conservatives are grappling with theses issues, especially since data has consistently shown that the abstinence-only approach is wishful thinking.

Abstinence only sex education is a theocratic approach to a social problem. It does not work. Anybody who has the courage to stand up and proclaim the truth is OK in my book. Good for you Pastor Patrick Shaffer.

And for the record... I teach my children abstinence as the best approach avoiding teen pregnancy and STDs. I then move on to birth control, condoms, sexual maturity, and sexual responsibility. It is the responsible thing to do.

What bothers me is that conservatives and Christians who push abstinence only education as the only answer to teen pregnancy are actually addressing teen sex instead. It follows that an ineffective focus results in more teen pregnancies, which in turn results in more abortions, adoptions, and teen mothers. Why don't they see this?