Life Finds A Way!

Henry Wu: You're implying a group comprised entirely of females will breed?

Ian Malcolm: No, I'm simply saying that, life, uh, finds a way.

Jeff Goldblum's character in Jurassic Park was pointing out the foolishness of believing it is possible to eliminate every potential gateway to disaster, because the wonder of life is that it can invent creative solutions humans never dreamed of.

That's what went through my mind when I heard states passed laws stripping public schools of their authority to teach sex education.  I thought, "Parents found a way."

In 2000, the Department of Education standard in CA schools was "abstinence until marriage/faithfulness in marriage."  No one knew that was the standard and they weren't actually teaching that, but that's what was on the books.  Children were taught whatever the particular beliefs were of any given Health teacher. 

I know, because I saw it.  In the San Fernando Valley where I live, for instance, there were teachers who taught it was a scientific fact that there is a "homosexual gene."  I saw another classroom presentation where the instructor opened the subject by writing the names of genitals and sex acts on a whiteboard then asking students to "Call out the street names for these words," which he wrote underneath the terms he had already written on the board.  For the rest of the class, he stood in front of those names for parts of their bodies and intimate human behavior.  It was supposed to "desensitize" them so they could have a "mature" discussion.

Parents objected to this and began supporting abstinence education.  In 2002, Federal money was designated for abstinence educations ($1 for every $12 that went to other types of sex ed.)  That didn't sit well with people who have a vested interest in promoting casual sex.  Fewer pregnant teens meant fewer abortion dollars, condom purchases, and STD containment services or research.  Not to mention, pointing out there are benefits to saving sex for marriage wouldn't advance the cause of same-sex unions.

What was the reaction? A systematic herding of parents and children toward "Comprehensive Sex Ed." 

First, any program which refused promote condoms or birth control was designated as "Abstinence Only."  A program which discussed such devices but didn't actively recommend using them was still designated "Abstinence Only."

Then they made up things like "The high rate of teen births is the result of 'Abstinence Only' programs which failed to tell students that about birth control and condoms."  Right. Like no adolescent would know such devices exist unless told by their Health teacher.  Not to mention it's a lie.  Birth rates began dropping immediately after abstinence programs began to be implemented.

Then they bullied the decision-makers.  An ACLU/Planned Parenthood campaign called "Not in My State!" threatened lawsuits.  They intimidated elected officials into refusing federal money for programs that were already working in their state.

The next step was to change the law.  Many states went from allowing school districts to choose the curriculum which best suited their community, to deciding the state knew what was best for everybody.  It wasn't because they listened to what parents demanded that CA went from "schools will emphasize abstinence" to "schools will either teach Comprehensive Sex Ed. or no Sex Ed. at all!"

Here we are in 2012: Quick, close the gate before anyone gets loose!  Deny new charter school applications, crush school voucher programs and create new textbooks to encourage children to think about who they will have sex with beginning in kindergarten.

Parents don't like to herded, so given the chance, they voted to take away the school's authority to instruct their kids about sex.  Yep, life finds a way!