Beyond the Girl Scouts

I've been following the scandal about the Girl Scouts getting sex ed from Planned Parenthood, at the UN, after competent adults were kicked out of the room. My first reaction was that the Scouts are going to be the Hitler Youth of the Secular Progressives.

Today, I learned from C-Fam that some Girl Scout people are in denial about this. I don't find it at all surprising, alas. I'm glad my husband sent the cookie girl away this year. Not that he did it for moral reasons; I think he just wasn't interested. But, it's probably not a bad idea to decline support in the future.

However, this issue reaches far beyond the Girl Scouts. I wonder if most people are unaware of what Planned Parenthood is doing -- beyond abortion, that is.

Austin Ruse (of C-Fam) provides a link to the pamphlet that Planned Parenthood did or did not give to the Scouts. The pamphlet is not for the faint-hearted. It goes on and on and on and on about how whatever you choose to do is your own decision, no one should pass judgement/tell you you can't/etc. Kind of spooky that they aren't more emphatic about telling potential partners that you're carrying HIV or STDs. I guess "having fun" is more important than keeping another person safe.

And, it's hard to see how casual sex with multiple partners, diseased partners, or violent partners is a good thing for women. They oh-so-helpfully point out that you should tell your health care provider all about your activities, so they can check your mouth, throat and rectum for signs of disease. Ew! Who wants to live a life like that? That is free and liberating? That is fun?

Yes, that pamphlet was a culture shock for me. Usually, when I'm reading about STDs, I'm reading it from Catholic sources which are listing the reasons why one needs to recall that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Or else, I'm reading articles of a more medical nature (even morally-hands-off), where actions and their consequences are spelled out in simple, scientific means. I've not stumbled across many places where this behavior is celebrated as a human right. Okay, I guess it is your right to be stupid -- but why teach to the lowest denominator? Why not want more for our fellow human beings? More, of course, than "do whatever you think is fun, just make sure you get your throat checked out!"

Oddly enough, one thing the pamphlet says is, "Young people living with HIV have the right to support and services that respect their dignity, autonomy, and well-being." Yeah, thanks, Planned Parenthood, for attempting to teach the world about human dignity. Puh-leeze! While we're at it, how about if we teach alcoholics how to drive safely whilst drunk? And we can help alcoholics when they need to change jobs, because their drinking caused them to lose their last one? And, furthermore, we'll invite them to hang out with other alcoholics, because they need to be protected from those nasty, horrible family members and friends who want them to stop drinking.

I will pray for all these people: The people who are living the lies. The people who perpetuate the lies. I pray that they will have a miraculous conversion of heart. Because happiness does not begin and end with the things described in this pamphlet.

You know what? I'm saving this pamphlet. You can bet it will be a part of what I show my teenagers. Because, for me, abstinence education does not mean telling the kids, "Sex. Don't do it." For me, it means enlightening them about the whole story. Raise them on the marvelous things Catholicism has to teach about the human body, about human dignity, and about human sexuality, and the outrageous lies of Planned Parenthood don't stand a chance. Because in a choice between Jason and Crystalina Evert (my favorites for teenage chastity issues) and IPPF's "Happy, Healthy and Hot," there's going to be no competition in my children's minds.

The splendor of truth, indeed!