Mormon sex ed

Should Mormon men teach sex ed to 12th graders in public school?

That has been the question I have been asking myself this week.

Paige is in senior health this year, and her teacher is a Mormon who teaches abstinence only--or predominantly--sex ed. To seniors. 17 and 18 years-old young adults who are coming up on 18 and 19 years of age. He's preaching abstinence to young adults who may be sexually active or have been sexually active.

It annoys me.

I asked Paige if he has mentioned safer sex. Yes, but really, the best choice is abstinence. What about Plan B, the morning after pill? Nope. He did mention, however, that 90% of women who have abortions are tormented by that decision for the rest of their lives, so of course adoption is the best choice.

I understand that his faith my be at odds with the facts of sexual reproduction and women's health in particular, so I question whether he should even be teaching the sex ed portion of health class. If he is going teach sex ed in a public high school, his teachings should be evidence based and not faith based.

I think that he doesn't realize that the students in his class find him to be ridiculous (though I am sure there are some who agree with him 100%) and when he shoves his faith based opinions down their throats, they stop listening to anything he has to say. He loses credibility.

These students are in their last year of high school, and the adult teaching sex to them still can't be real with them? Yes, it is true that abstinence is the one way to truly prevent an unwanted or unexpected pregnancy and STD/STI, but is abstinence a reality for the age range he is teaching? Probably not. They want to have sex. They will have sex. How can they have sex safely, and what can they do if they have a pregnancy scare or if they actually do become pregnant? What if they contract a STD/STI?

I so wish I could teach that class.

Some other teens...
What to Expect When You're Aborting
Pregnancy Options Workbook