www.familywatchinternational.org

May 1, 2008

Why Are More 12-Year-Olds
Having Abortions?

Dear Family Advocates,

That is the question many in the UK are asking after their government recently released data showing a rapid increase in the number of girls ages 12-15 having abortions. 

Some say this increase is because British schools teach “safe sex” programs that actually sexualize children rather than curtail sexual activity.  Others say it is because they are not getting enough “safe sex” education, i.e., the schools need to push more condoms.

The U.S. is also embroiled in this same issue.  Last week congressional hearings were held on whether to continue abstinence funding.  Abstinence promoters pointed to studies showing that abstinence programs work and that “safe sex” programs actually increase sexual activity and thus teen pregnancy, abortions and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. 

“Safe sex” proponents claimed that abstinence programs do not work and that they do not prepare kids to protect themselves.  They also pointed to studies purportedly proving their points.

So, who is right?

Over the past several years, I have been involved in HIV/AIDS prevention education programs in Africa.  Even though literally billions of condoms have been distributed there, and billions more are being shipped in every year, the AIDS infection rates are not going down.  In fact, in many places they are going up dramatically!  Two years ago at the High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS at the UN, a doctor from Nigeria confirmed this when he told us, “Condoms are killing my people.”

That should tell us something about the real-world effectiveness of the approach of promoting “safe sex” through condom use.

On the other hand, there is clear evidence that abstinence programs are successful.  Uganda is the classic example.  It is the only African country that has significantly reduced its infection rate.  In 2002, I invited the First Lady of Uganda, Janet Museveni, to give the keynote speech at a conference I chaired for UN delegates to discuss the reason for this success.  She made it clear that Uganda’s success was due to the promotion of abstinence before marriage and fidelity in marriage and NOT the use of condoms. 

So, why is that so?

Studies show that even many adults who intend to use condoms do not always use them consistently or correctly.  They also show that condoms have significant failure rates.  And although condom use can reduce pregnancy rates and HIV infections, abstinence can completely eliminate them.

Studies also show that children and teens who are having sex are even less prone to use a condom or use it correctly, even if they have been thoroughly educated in “safe sex” techniques.  Simply put, many children are just not mature enough to decide to use a condom in the heat of the moment.  A great deal of teen sex is unplanned (and adult sex too, for that matter).

It is unconscionable that schools anywhere would teach children that having sex at will and using condoms to protect themselves will keep them “safe.”  In countries where HIV/AIDS infection rates are low, teen sex may lead to pregnancy, but in developing countries, and especially in Africa, teen sex is the equivalent of Russian roulette and can lead to HIV infection and death.

Family Watch will be at the UN again this June at the High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS where this issue no doubt will be hotly debated.  We will be doing our part to ensure that the facts on the proven success of abstinence are kept constantly before the delegations. As part of that effort, we will be working to help nations to adopt policies that teach children to eliminate their risk of becoming pregnant or infected by HIV, rather than just reducing it.

Sincerely,

Sharon Slater
President

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News Items of Interest

Abortion  

Judge Rules Brazil’s Abortion Law Unconstitutional.  According to the judge, the law that allows abortion in the case of rape of a minor is unconstitutional because it violates a constitutional right to life.  Read more here.

Adoption  

Sexual Orientation Regulations May Close British Adoption Agencies.  The regulations require adoption agencies to place children with same-sex couples, even if it violates the religious beliefs of the organization running the agency.  It was recently announced that the Catholic Children’s Society will shut down permanently.  Read more here. 

Adoption Rates Down in Scotland and Abortion Could be a Factor.  The number of adoptions has dropped significantly in the last 40 years as the number of abortions has risen.  Jackson Carlaw, Tory public health spokesman, has asked that the possible link be studied.  Read more here. 

Homosexuality Related

European Union Abandons "Sexual Orientation" Discrimination Plan.  The directive would have forced all member states to adopt laws prohibiting discrimination based on age, disability, religion and sexual orientation.  The requirement could have threatened religious liberty throughout Europe.  Read more here. 

Canadian Christian Ministry Fined $23,000 For Rejecting Homosexual Employee.  The organization cares for disabled individuals and was fined by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.  The employees of the ministry are required to sign “morality statements” and commit to abstain from all immoral behavior including homosexual activity.  The employee filed a complaint when her employment was terminated after she began a homosexual relationship.  Read more here. 

Australian Businesses Pushed to Endorse Same-sex Marriage.  Homosexual activists in that country are publishing the names of businesses that recognize same-sex marriage as a tactic to put pressure on the federal government to legalize it.  Read more here.

Survey Finds Most Homosexuals in U.S. Want Long-term Relationship, Children.  The survey, conducted among young homosexuals by the Rockway Institute at Alliant University, showed that more than 90 percent of females and 80 percent of males expected to be in a long term relationship by the time they were 30.  Two-thirds of females and more than half of the males expected to raise children.  Read more here.

Norwegian Poll Finds Majority Support for Same-Sex Marriage.  The survey found that 58 percent favored the government’s new Marriage Act, which essentially legalizes same-sex marriage in that country.  Only 31 percent opposed it.  Read more here.

Homosexual Group Will Endorse U.S. Senate Candidates.  The Human Rights Campaign  announced that it will play a more active role in the November elections than it has previously, including a nationwide get out the vote campaign for homosexual-friendly candidates.  Read more here.

California Marriage Amendment Signatures Filed.  Protect Marriage, the state coalition that has led the effort to collect the nearly 700,000 valid signatures to put the amendment on the November ballot, filed about 1.1 million signatures with the state.  Read more here.

General Interest

Study Says Internet Pornography “Encourages Teenagers to Have Sex Early.”  The study, published in the journal CyberPsychology and Behaviour, found that males between 12 and 17 who viewed pornography on a regular basis had sex earlier.  Experts also warn that viewing pornography can lead to a multitude of sexual problems.  Read more here.

Child Prostitution Increasing While Ages are Decreasing.  Most girl prostitutes in northern California are between the ages of 11 and 14.  Most come from dysfunctional families and are attempting to escape abuse by looking for surrogate “families” in the form of pimps and fellow prostitutes.  Read more here. 

Abstinence Education Works Says Heritage Foundation Report.  The report examined 21 studies of abstinence education programs and found that they are effective in reducing teen sexual activity.  Abstinence programs have come under increasing attack by those who argue that teens need “comprehensive” sex ed.  Read the Heritage Report here. 

U.S. “Losing” the War on Internet Child Pornography.  FBI director Robert Mueller told the U.S. House Judiciary Committee that computer crime and child pornography are growing exponentially.  The FBI and the Justice Department are working with major Internet service providers to determine what can be done to reduce Internet crimes.  Read more here.

 

Have We Gone MAD?

FWI Communications Director Lynn Allred offers some bizarre, real-life examples that make us wonder. . . Have We Gone MAD?

Something Amiss with the Swiss

I have an announcement to make.

(Drum roll please. . .)

Ahem. 

I’m going to be . . . a GRANDMA!

I’ll share several hundred photos with you in about 28 more weeks, but for now, let me just say that I’m just glad we don’t live in Switzerland.

Why, you ask?  Read on.

First, let me remind you that my “grandfetus” at the tender age of 12 weeks already has a beating heart, detectable brain waves, a mouth, lips, fingernails, fingerprints, eyelids, a nose, bones, and all his organs.  He can hiccup, suck his thumb, feel pain, grasp objects, kick, swim, and hear me guffaw about Switzerland’s recent legislation.

So what’s so funny?

New legislation in Switzerland requires that all individuals respect the rights of animals.  This includes scientists, farmers and pet owners.  Every human must respect the dignity of every animal.  Dog owners must be trained and licensed so dogs will thrive.  (No training for new parents required, however, so children will thrive.)  Individuals who wish to fish are required to complete a course on humane fishing.  One report even suggested that the law would require that “hamsters should only be kept in pairs, and fish can only be killed under anesthetics.”

But that’s not the really funny part. 

Switzerland’s Federal Ethics Committee is now debating . . . the rights . . . of plants.  “Plant Dignity.”  It’s all about “PLANT DIGNITY!”  NOT MAKING THIS UP, FOLKS.

So in Switzerland, the dignity of a daisy is all but decided, and a sick Swiss goldfish can’t be flushed without general anesthesia, but the life of this most amazing 12-week-old grandfetus that I just described could be quickly and legally terminated in Switzerland without so much as a second thought, let alone a baby aspirin. 

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE???

Looks like it’s a good time to be a Doberman or even a dandelion in Switzerland.  But if you’re a living, hearing, kicking, thumb-sucking, pre-born human?

Nope.

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