Sioux Falls Parents' Advocate Urges Abstinence-Based Sex Ed Curriculum
by Jim Brown
January 24, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Parents in one South Dakota public school district are calling for abstinence-only education in their students' health classes. These eight concerned parents in Sioux Falls recently succeeded in getting textbooks that promote condom-based sex education programs removed from area middle school classes. The group, led by local citizen Penny Martens, is now proposing revisions to the objectives of the sexual health curriculum as a whole.
Martens believes the current objectives of the district's sex-ed curriculum are vague and not closely aligned with state standards. She notes, "It was in our curriculum before that the kids, for example, would get a handout that said, 'What birth control is right for you?'"
The local parents' group spokeswoman feels the title of that handout exemplifies a mistaken approach to sex education. "I just think that is coming from the standpoint of expecting our children to be sexually active instead of setting a standard and saying this is the standard we expect," she explains.
Martens says her proposed objectives would, among other things, define abstinence as "the deliberate decision to avoid any kind of sexual activity outside the context of marriage." Also, she notes, the pro-abstinence effort she is spearheading would promote "a mutually faithful monogamous relationship in the context of marriage" as the expected standard for sex.
The abstinence education advocate maintains that this is where sex education should begin. "In drugs and alcohol we set a standard," she points out, "and we say, "Don't do drugs and alcohol.' I don't think that sexual education should be any different. We should set the standard."
Also, Martens insists, "Kids need to know the facts. They need to know negative consequences [of premarital sex]. They need to know that there are huge failure rates with contraception, and that this can have lifelong implications."
The Sioux Falls School District is forming a curriculum council made up of six parents, three community members, and several teachers and principals. This group will collaborate to review and file a report on Martens' proposed objectives.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
