Planned Parenthood expands reach with federal sex ed money in Virginia

Judie Brown
by Rita Diller
November 26, 2012
Reproduced with Permission

This article originally appeared in this issue of the WSR: 2012-11-21.

Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Virginia has received government funding that enables it to expand its systematic sexualization and degradation of 9th graders in the Newport News public schools with "risk reduction" sex education. The money comes from the $75 million pool set aside as a part of Obamacare to teach the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP). The PREP money is setting students up for disaster as it enables Planned Parenthood and other organizations access to the most vulnerable youth across the nation. The curriculum being used in Newport News, Virginia, is distributed by ETR Associates, formerly the education department of Planned Parenthood of Santa Cruz.

ETR claims that the Reducing the Risk (RTR) curriculum teaches that abstinence is the best and safest choice. Imagine, if you can, Planned Parenthood - the nation's foremost promoter of anything-goes sex, free contraception for all, and abortion, abortion, and more abortion - teaching abstinence. How would that look? A glance at the teacher outline for Lesson 1A, the introductory lesson (page 12 of the linked PowerPoint presentation), shows exactly how abstinence plays out in the sex-encouraging scheme at Planned Parenthood. "Abstinence," it says, "means choosing not to do any sexual activity that carries a risk for pregnancy or STD/HIV." In other words, abstinence has nothing do with abstaining from sex acts. So long as the student avoids STDs and pregnancy, and is comfortable with what he or she is doing, it's an anything goes scenario.

Included among the RTR components in the teacher's guide is a "Refusal or Delay Quiz." The students are given dangerous scenarios and asked to describe an appropriate response, which would include refusal or an alternative. Rather than teaching students to stay clear of these types of scenarios in the first place, they will be taught how to avert pregnancy and STDs in situations ranging from drinking and going for a ride with one's boyfriend, to being alone at your boyfriend's house in the absence of parents for several hours, and when your "boyfriend begins to kiss you and tries to take off your clothes." The student can refuse or list an alternative. This is Planned Parenthood's idea of preparing teens to remain abstinent and protected.

The teacher's guide also contains a "role-playing activity" where the student and a friend discuss using condoms. The friend is opposed because it feels better without one and states, "I just don't like to stop what's going on." The student decides in the end that condoms are necessary in order to do "everything we're planning to do in high school and then afterward." No morality, no concern for the other person or for what is right or wrong, only that we are able to do what we want to do because we are not hindered with a child or a disease.

According to Planned Parenthood's media release, it has already been onboard for three years at the Newport News schools teaching an "abridged version" of Reducing the Risk. It will use the grant money to hire three additional "educators" to reach deeper into the public schools and other youth-serving organizations in the Hampton/Newport News area.

In typical Planned Parenthood fashion, its hype machine is pumping out intentionally misleading sound bites in the hopes that parents will take the bait. Leigh Anne Woods, its lead educator and program manager stated, "This is an incredible opportunity for us to provide complete, medically-accurate information about reproductive health, family planning, healthy relationships, and communication skills to a vulnerable population with high rates of STIs and teen pregnancy. . . Young people cannot be expected to make safe, healthy decisions if they don't have the complete range of information."

The homepage of Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Virginia promotes its so-called Man up Monday with an image of a pair of men's boxer underwear with a huge fishhook protruding from the fly, proclaiming, "Hook up this weekend? Make sure you didn't catch anything." By clicking for more information, one sees a similar pair of underwear - this time with flames flashing from the fly - with the caption: "Hot weekend? Get checked for HIV and STDs." This organization that provides a veritable tackle box for the hookup culture is the organization that purports to teach abstinence in Newport News schools and across the Hampton Roads area.

STOPP is collaborating with local pro-life advocates who are working to stop the program. If you are in the Hampton Roads area, send an e-mail to stopp@all.org, and we will put you in touch with the local leadership fighting this program.

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