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Since when do the nation's health officials get their policy advice from prostitutes?
by Christopher Cigany
“The
lunatics haven’t just taken over the asylum; they’re franchising the
operations.” So said columnist
Don Feder after learning that U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher consulted
“commercial sex workers” in compiling his new report, “A Call to Action
to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior”.
Satcher
sought advice from prostitutes on how to teach America’s children about sex?
Let’s face it, when it comes to “responsible sexual behavior” ladies of
the night aren’t exactly the best role models for our children. What comes
next--field trips to brothels for “life experience” credits?
Dr.
Satcher wasn’t kidding when he said the report had been developed through a
“collaborative process” and “sought the broadest possible input and
brought together a wide range of experience.” The fact that this morally
questionable segment of society has been consulted, and that their input will
determine public policy affecting children, should raise the ire of every
citizen with any common sense of what is decent and acceptable in society.
Satcher
claims, “we must find common ground and reach consensus on the nature of these
problems and their possible solutions, consistent with the best available
science.” [Emphasis added.] The advice of streetwalkers is the best
available science? I would like to see the “series of scientific review
papers” contributed by these “professional women.”
The
fact is Satcher has ignored the best available science by concluding that there
is no “scientific evidence” that teaching abstinence until marriage alone is
effective. This contradicts a statement in Satcher’s “Vision for the
Future” section of the report wherein he emphasized, “there are no
infallible methods of protection, except abstinence…” So why is he still
touting contraceptives education in America’s schools?
In
Satcher’s quest to find the best resources to teach kids about sex, does it
seem that he somehow overlooked the obvious? In a press release issued on July 9th,
the Surgeon General’s Office declared, “Strategies geared toward increasing
awareness include a recognition that parents are the child’s primary educators
and should guide a child’s sexuality education in a way that is consistent
with their values and beliefs.” [Emphasis added.] However, the press
release goes on to say that families differ in their levels of knowledge and
comfort in discussing sex with kids, making school education vital.”
Satcher’s
words and methods should sound an alarm throughout Kentucky where both sexuality
education and HIV/AIDS/STD education are mandated by the state. No matter how
uncomfortable it may be for parents to discuss sexual health and morality with
their kids, “commercial sex workers” are hardly a fit alternative—even if
the Surgeon General says so. His
mixed messages about contraceptives vs. abstinence further muddle the message
we’re sending to kids about sexual health and morality.
The truth is parental involvement is the best resource for sex education. Parents may not offer the “wealth” of knowledge that professional sex workers do, but what they can offer are values that highlight self-respect and self control rather than sexual experimentation and sexual license.
The
crazies are running the asylum—and parents may be offering their benign
approval by remaining silent and uninvolved in their children’s lives. A
little common sense from parents may be the sanest cure for what ails our kids.
Christopher
Cigany is a policy analyst with The Family Foundation of Kentucky, a nonprofit
educational organization focusing upon public policy issues affecting families.
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Richard
Nelson is policy analyst for The
Family Foundation of Kentucky is a nonprofit educational organization dealing
with issues affecting Kentucky families.