This is your womb...

This is your womb under the control of a state wide 'abstinence is best' policy.

First, the program:

http://www.greattowait.com/

some their misinformation:

How Abstinence can make dating better

Abstinence can make dating better! If you abstain from sex with someone you are dating there is no need to worry about contracting an STD or getting pregnant. Not having to worry about these issues can take a lot of stress off of a relationship.

Having sex will undoubtedly change your relationship. It is important to consider the emotional consequences of sex. Abstaining from sex can also help avoid the emotional complications of a sexual relationship.

Choosing to not have sex while dating allows you to know that the person you are dating is with you for YOU. They are not just interested in having sex with you. They respect you and your choices. You will never feel used or exploited for choosing not to have sex.

Marriage has benefits

Marriage is a mutually committed relationship with many benefits. A marriage allows for emotional stability, companionship, love and trust. A faithful marriage, wherein both partners are monogomus, alleviates the worry of sexually transmitted diseases and promotes a healthy sexual relationship. Studies show that married people live longer lives, are physically healthier and are wealthier.(1)

How to turn off the pressure

It is important to communicate to your boyfriend or girlfriend how you feel about sex from the start. Be completely honest and establish limits for the both of you. Talking about sex openly and honestly is the sign of a mature relationship. It is not necessary to give in to the pressure to please someone else.

Remember, if your girlfriend or boyfriend does not respect your decision to abstain then they are disrespecting you, so why would you want to be with someone that does not respect you?

Many teenagers feel pressured to do more than they are ready to…stand up for yourself and do not let the pressure make you do something you do not want to do.

Tips that work

• Be confident in your response and follow though by repeating until he or she gets the point.

• Knowing the common pressure lines and practicing what you say before the situation arises will eliminate some of that on-the-spot pressure.

• If a situation feels uncomfortable or "funny" to you simply walt away and stay away.

• Your body language can sometimes send mix signals. Use body language that will get your point across clearly. Stand tall, speak clearly and be assertive. Eye contact is important when delivering your message that you are not ready.

And now, let's look at where the state of Florida places out of all states in teen pregnancy.

http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/state_data/states/florida.html

• In Florida, 350,550 of the 3,205,880 women of childbearing age become pregnant each year. 58% of these pregnancies result in live births, and 27% result in abortions; the remainder end in miscarriage.
• Florida has the 6th highest teenage pregnancy rate of any state. Of the 48,440 teenage pregnancies each year in Florida, 52% result in live births and 34% result in abortions.
• Florida’s teenage pregnancy rate declined by 22% between 1992 and 2000.

But wait, they said it was on the decline (another site I looked at said even to 2002). So, when was this abstinence program started? According to their Web site:

Since 2000 the Abstinence Education Program and providers have served 22,247 parents through health fairs, educational classes, and workshops across the state. Abstinence Education activities are interactive and focus on educating youth about the health and psychological risks involved in early sexual activity, enhancing self-esteem and building skills such as positive goal setting, decision-making, problem solving, negotiation and refusal techniques.

The Florida Abstinence Education Association (FAEA), formed in 2002, is a collaborative group made up of over 100 non-funded and state-funded community-based and faith-based organizations, businesses and other entities supportive of abstinence-only education. The organization, which meets on a quarterly basis, was formed to share information, build capacity, network and to explore other funding opportunities among its membership to enhance abstinence-only education in Florida.

At best, the continuance of decline of teen pregnancy rates I think belies a pre-existing trend rather than the efforts made by the abstinence program... hmm...

Is this the face of the Devil?

Right wing/ conservative Christians are so concerned with preserving the 'sanctity of marriage' that I had to put in my two cents.

An article has been written on the schism of the Anglican communion, schism that at first seemed speculative, then likely, and is now creeping ever more into reality, over sex!

What I feel is really sad is that the conservative anti-gay movement is being supported largely in part by Africa. It is also being funded by outside sources, like the Institute of Religion and Democracy, which this article points out is responsible for playing a part in the contra war in central america. Read it here.

I had an exclamation point after sex! because I think it is ridiculous that an institution that is supposed to be committed to following Jesus' word, caring for the poor, the ill, the lonely, is getting its knickers in a twist all over the issue of who can be married to whom, and who priests can and cannot sleep with.

Can love be so wrong?

Bush Thinks Birth Control = Abortion

After reading this article (and thanks to my librarian friend for sending this along),

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121745387879898315.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

I felt angry - why is this happening so close to an election? And if you read McCain's response (which was, no comment) you can infer that he supports this measure.

If McKinney can't get president, I hope to god that Obama does. He will rule us with a gentler iron hand.

So what did I do to speak out? I went to the "Family Research Council" and submitted this email:

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I just want to express my outrage at Tom McClusky's quote in the Wall Street Journal regarding Bush's mission to classify the pill as an abortion method, to wit: "If the draft regulation were to prompt some insurance companies to drop coverage for prescription birth control, 'that would be fantastic,' said Tom McClusky, a strategist with the conservative Family Research Council." (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121745387879898315.html?mod=googlenews_wsj)

How can you say you promote family values when you are actively working to take away a family's choice whether or not to have a child? Have you ever seen an unwanted child? You probably see them every day without recognizing them - you don't have to look hard where I live to see families with five children, both parents working full time (at least one job a piece), the oldest has to stay home from school to take care of two babies, and there's still not enough resources between the parents to keep their own children fed! This happens every day! All it takes is for a parent to be an ex-con, or neither of them having college degrees and so they have to settle for minimum wage. And all the while our society lifts up the idea of parenthood and having as many kids as you can bear, sometimes more.

Do you think that both parents working full time on minimum wage and being forced to spend that much time away from their kids demonstrates good family values? I certainly do not, and you are definitely not doing God's work. And if at this point, you are judging them, saying, well, they should be able to abstain, and it's our job to make the laws - do you really think that's any of your business? What if I pried into your personal matters, and said there was something wrong and subversive about the way you wipe your ass?

The only way to ensure a properly functioning system with no access to birth control is to make sure there will be loving homes for the children - which means fighting to raise minimum wage, fighting hunger in our country, and totally restructuring the foster care and adoption system. I see nothing on your web site addressing poverty, which I believe is the thing that Jesus talked most often about.

EVERY CHILD A WANTED CHILD!

"For I come not to bring peace, but a sword."

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Quoting scripture may or may not get their attention - they may not even recognize it as scripture, but one can dream.