S3x education in the RH bill
By DR. BERNARDO M. VILLEGAS
November 26, 2009, 5:50pm
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/231317...cation-rh-bill
One of the possible harmful effects of the Reproductive Health Bill being discussed in the Philippine Congress will result from the way the framers of the legislation ape the *** education movement in schools in the US and other Western countries. *** education is brought to the classroom and children are exposed to all types of contraceptive devices, purportedly to prevent teenage pregnancies. A book written by a medical doctor entitled "You're teaching my child what? A physician exposes the lies of *** education and how they harm your child" describes in detail the dreadful consequences of indiscriminate *** education in American schools. The author, Dr. Miriam Grossman, was interviewed by Peter Jon Mitchel, Research Analyst, Institute of Marriage and Family Canada, and was recently published in the online magazine, Mercator.net (September 24, 2009).
Dr. Grossman worked for 12 years as a psychiatrist for students at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) campus. She reports: "During that time, thousands of kids came through my office. I was alarmed at how many of them had sexually transmitted infections and concerned about students, mostly young women, whose sexual lifestyle placed them at risk for disease, emotional distress, and even infertility later in life, I was frustrated to see patient after patient in similar situations, yet my hands were tied. There wasn't much I could do for them. These were young people who were otherwise well-informed and proactive about their health. They were careful about what they ate, they exercised, avoided tobacco, and so on. But in this one area, in their sexual behavior, they took alarming risks, and that was perplexing. I began to question these students carefully and I examined how campus health and counseling centers approach sexual health issues."
In her book, Dr. Grossman argues that *** educators and activists dismiss the fundamentals of child development, and omit critical findings of neurobiology, gynecology, and infectious disease. In her words: "For example, in the past decade, our understanding of the teen brain and how it reasons and makes decisions during moments of high stimulation has grown tremendously. We didn't know until recently that the brain area that is responsible for making rational, thought-out decisions, the area that considers the pros and cons and consequences of decisions, is immature in teens. The circuits aren't complete; the wiring is unfinished. *** educators insist that, like adults, teens are capable of making responsible decisions; they just lack information about sexuality and access to contraceptives. So the way to fight sexually transmitted infections and teen pregnancies, these authorities argue, is to provide teens with information and contraceptives and teach them skills like how to say 'no' and how to put on a condom. But current neuropsychological research does not support this stance. We know now that teens' poor decisions are likely due not to lack of information, but to lack of judgment. And there is only thing that will bring that: time."
Provisions in the RH Bill on *** education make the same wrong assumptions. They start with the premise that kids are "sexual" from cradle to grave, that adolescence is the natural time to explore sexuality and that kids have the right to express their sexuality in whatever manner they choose.
According to Dr. Grossman, this message promotes sexual freedom (or more exactly, sexual license) and not sexual health. This is ideology, not science. When sexual license is the priority, sexual health suffers. And indeed, the statistics in the US on sexually transmitted infections, HIV, teen pregnancy, and abortion are mind numbing.
The RH bill can also easily fall into the duplicity unmasked by Dr. Gross man. When speaking to the media, and in their material for parents, *** educators state that *** education should start at home and that parents should be the primary *** educators of children. But in materials directed at kids, the message is altogether different. In one of these materials used in US schools, an online booklet for kids called All About *** opens with eight pages on sexual rights:
"Every human being has basic rights. Still, adults may say and do things that make young people feel like they don't have rights. It's important for you to know your rights so you can stand up for yourself when necessary." Then a bit later: "You have the right to decide how to express your sexuality at every point in your life. You can choose if and how to express your sexuality."
These findings of an American psychiatrist should forewarn Filipino parents about the dangers inherent in the RH bill. I hope that our legislators can focus on other more urgent matters that will positively approach the eradication of poverty in the Philippines, such as rural and agricultural development, social housing, microcredit, quality education in the elementary and high schools, vocational or technical education, and so many other non-controversial solutions. The RH bill is full of dangers to our youth and to future generations of Filipinos. Because it may instill the contraceptive mentality into our youth, it can lead to the problems of demographic suicide 20 years down the road. It, therefore, goes against the very principle of sustainable development, i.e. to solve the problems of today without harming the welfare of future generations.
NO TO ABORTION. NO TO THE ABORTIFACIENT-PROMOTING RH/ABORTION BILL (HB 5043)
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http://www.petitiononline.com/xxhb5043/