Sex Activists Upset By New Web Site

There's a new US government Web site up that encourages parents to talk to their kids about sex. As expected, "activists" are howling!

Here's a passage from the site's section on talking to kids about sex:

Your teen son or daughter needs to know why you don't want them to have sex now. Tell them why waiting for sex until they are married is the healthiest choice. Tell them if they wait, they won't have to worry about getting pregnant or getting someone pregnant. They won't have to worry about sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. Nor will they have to worry that the person they're dating is only interested in them because of sex. If they have relationships that don't revolve around sex, they'll be able to develop more depth in their relationships. Let your teen know that even though they are capable of having sex, having sex will not make them an adult...making good choices will.

Sounds good to me! It's responsible, concerned, loving, and it's not asking anything impossible. But CNN.com quotes Monica Rodriguez of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, who's not too happy with this development.

"There's this misconception that giving young people negative information about contraception will encourage them not to have sexual intercourse, when all it will do is encourage them not to have contraception, so the strategy backfires."

Since when is abstinence "negative information on contraception?" It's positive information on sexuality. Ms. Rodriguez assumes the abstinence talk will fail, so there's no point in having it. That's not true on two fronts. First, the talk frequently works, and second, when it fails, it fails in a context of a clear understanding of the risks, which then encourages contraception.

The site is also in hot water with gay activists. Natch. CNN quotes a passage I couldn't find on the site, which says:

If you believe your adolescent may be gay, or is experiencing difficulties with gender identity or sexual orientation issues, consider seeing a family therapist who shares your values to clarify and work through these issues.

That's sound and reasonable advice ... unless you're Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, who even takes offense in a letter to HHS Sec. Leavitt at the site's use of the phrase "alternative lifestyle," as "outdated and inaccurate language that can alienate youth at a time when they are particularly vulnerable." HRC's site not appear to contain any suggestions to parents of gay children, and I'm not about to write them to encourage them to add such a section. But its absence, and Solmonese's comments to Leavitt, reveals that this is an activist organization, not a caring one.

Parents should seek psychological help for kids who are showing homosexual tendencies, and for themselves, too, because this is tough stuff. Kids can be brought back to a straight lifestyle in many cases, but it requires involvement and change from all family members. And if the kid chooses to "stay gay," he or she and the family will need help dealing with it. With an alternative lifestyle comes difficult times and harsh realities that gay activists won't address.

The mainstreaming of homosexuality is a hoax. Walk around any high school and you'll see that after years of tolerance-teaching, the kids know it's an alternative to a mainstream lifestyle.

Good for the Bush administration and Sec. Leavitt for encouraging healthy talks about healthy sex. My wife has been working towards the same goal, encouraging parents to talk to their kids about drugs, and we've heard from parents and kids who tell us it works.