The U.K. Guardian reported that Britain is sending 42 million condoms to South Africa for the expected 40,000 prostitutes being trafficked into the country for the month-long World Cup event.

The Guardian reports that an estimated 5.7 million South Africans are living with HIV, which is about one in every five – or 20% – of adults, a truly sobering statistic.

Casual sex outside of marriage is never a wise choice, and it’s particularly risky in Africa. But if Britain is sending 42 million condoms, one would expect that condoms are extremely effective in preventing HIV, right?

According to research, condoms are only effective against preventing HIV transmission 85% of the time. And consider that here, in the U.S., approximately one in every four people with HIV is undiagnosed and unaware that he or she is infected with HIV. Even more African sex workers are likely unaware of their HIV-positive status.

Perhaps abstinence while in HIV-laden South Africa is a better alternative than being part of the 15% or so who fall into the condom-failure zone, who will return home potentially – and unknowingly - infected with HIV. Wouldn’t you agree?

And, contrary to growing popular belief, HIV/AIDS infection is still lethal. The HIV “treatments” only delay the death of those who are infected. There is no “cure” or vaccination for HIV/AIDS at this time.

Are you traveling to see the World Cup games in South Africa? My advice: watch the games, enjoy South Africa and avoid playing Russian roulette with HIV/AIDS.

The U.K. Federal Commission for Children and Youth (FCCY) discovered that 12- to 14-year-old boys are having sex without condoms. The solution? 

The “Hotshot,” a small condom specifically designed to fit 12-year-old boys. Because handing out Jr. Condoms to Junior at school will fix the slightly more-than-concerning problem of pre-teen boys having sex, right?

The U.K. Telegraph reports that Family Planning groups along with the Swiss Aids Federation, lobbied to have the smaller condom produced. No surprise here. International Planned Parenthood wants to “help” children as young as 10.

Even Joe Leprechaun doesn’t have to eat Bangers and Mash to know that throwing condoms – even little condoms – to lads and lassies will not fix the U.K.’s core behavioral problem of kids having sex with kids.

Sex should never be promoted as an acceptable activity for children, little condom or not. Government and schools should not be teaching to the lowest standard, unless they hope to “achieve” the lowest standard.

Isn’t it due time the FCCY and other government entities to raise the standard, rather than listen to “Family Planning” groups, whose very existence depends on children having sex with children and propagating dire, desperate circumstances?

What children need is more parental communication - including instruction about sex – and more school advocacy for higher sexual standards and a touch (perhaps a load) more discretion from the media. What they don’t need is a smaller condom.

See Focus President Jim Daly’s blog on this subject.

A great deal of interest has been expressed on the former blog regarding International Planned Parenthood’s (IPPF) Stand and Deliver report.  I’d like to address some of the comments I’ve received all at once, so here you go.

How do I substantiate my claim that “young people” in this report includes 10-year-olds?

On page 10 of the International Planned Parenthood Federation’s (IPPF) Stand and Deliver  report, they use  the term “young people” to refer to those who are between 10 and 24 years of age. So, yes, 10-year-old children are considered eligible for IPPF’s “services” for young people.

Why do I “pick on” (not so) poor Planned Parenthood and other liberal-sex groups?

Because sex without boundaries – even with a condom – is dangerous, not only to children, but also to teens and adults.

Planned Parenthood (PP) promotes casual sex, homosexual sex, outer-course, inner-course and most any other course that “freely expresses sexual pleasure.” It’s unconstrained sex without boundaries. Heaven forbid we should “impose tremendous boundaries” on sex by encouraging abstinence or marriage!

In our view, sexuality is not a public playground to be shared, taken for granted, exploited, exposed and abused multiple times by multiple people. But, to PP and casual-sex groups, sex is just that: a public playground.

Research tells us a child’s brain lacks the ability to make fully rational decisions and discern good from bad. Thus, protective boundaries are particularly important for children and sexual behaviors, unless children are to become victims of sexual predators or fall prey to harmful pornographic and sexual addictions.  

Focus on the Family believes  that sex is a sacred union to be shared between one man and one woman for a lifetime. Yes, we proudly support traditional marriage and great sex within that context.

What about sexually active kids?

These kids need their parents’ attention, love and communication ASAP - alongside a qualified doctor and counselor -  to have some very serious conversations about their current actions and future direction. Schools simply handing children condoms does little to reduce or change risky sexual behaviors; rather, it’s the parents who need to initiate this change in direction.

Am I just “over-reacting” and afraid that children “will learn the names of his/her sexual organs?”

Look for yourself, ”young people” will learn MUCH more, to the extent of being suggestive and provocative. 

Consider the following examples:

• Comprehensive Sex Education Curricula review   (Note the references to explicit materials, lack of medical accuracy and lack of effectiveness.)

And if that doesn’t give you an idea of the kind of crude, explicit content on their website, check out this site designed specifically for teens [Warning: crude, explicit content]:

•  takecaredownthere.org  - (video clips)
• plannedparenthood.org/teen-talk - (Masturbation section)
• plannedparenthood.org/teen-talk/- (phone sex, online porn)
• plannedparenthood.org/health-topics - (abortion)

Still want your kids getting Planned Parenthood’s “safe” sex education? You’re the parent, you decide.

The International Planned Parenthood Foundation released a report,  “Stand and Deliver: Sex, Health and Young People in the 21st Century,” which classifies children as “sexual beings” and promotes “pleasurable sexual lives” in children as young as 10 years old – mere sexual objects to be exploited.

This should make parents across the nation feel really comfortable with their school’s Planned-Parenthood-comprehensive-condom-based-safe-sex-if-it-feels-good-to-children curriculum, now shouldn’t it? YIKES! Parents, keep your children and schools far away from the sexually debased Planned Parenthood organization.

Jeanne Monahan, Director of the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council, has perhaps the most concise observations about Planned Parenthood’s true agenda:

“This report isn’t about doing what is right for young people and certainly not about offering them the very best options in life. It is about advancing an ideological agenda that is hostile to traditional families, religious faith and the good of children.

“‘Stand and Deliver’ dangerously oversexualizes children as young as ten. Not only are the recommendations developmentally inappropriate, but they advocate behaviors in ten year-olds that can lead to such disturbing problems as pedophilia and statutory rape. Why can’t Planned Parenthood let kids be kids?

“Polls show parents overwhelmingly believe that sex education should reflect the values taught at home. However, Planned Parenthood’s report downplays the role of parents in transmitting values to their children. …”  Read FRC’s entire press release …

 Parents, you are the primary communicators to children about sex. Be intentional about communicating your family values, and don’t hesitate to express your approval and disapproval of certain behaviors.

More on Planned Parenthood 

• Planned Parenthood’s Campus Crusade
• Leaving Planned Parenthood (Part 1 of 2)
• The Planned Parenthood, Kinsey Morality Heist
• Planned Parenthood’s Origins (chart)
• Condom Cover-Up
• Take Twelve: Top 12 Sexual Myths Refuted
  

The Washington Post’s On Faith blog has a great post from my colleague, Chad Hills, about new findings in the world of abstinence education.

Many politicians and educators have long since dismissed the idea that abstinence education is a healthy – or perhaps even better – alternative to comprehensive sex ed. But now a landmark study from the February 2010 Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine adds to the ever-growing evidence that abstinence education works.

Chad put it well:

If you talk to young people, a gradual change is taking place. They’re experiencing the aftermath of a sexual tsunami, and are sorting through the refuge left in the wake of sexually liberated parents. The fallout from broken, dysfunctional families is painful – a model they don’t want to replicate. Young men and women are searching for brighter futures and not so sure they want to follow the road map they’ve seen modeled and taught.

There’s a new generation waking up and willing to do things differently… and better:

Abstinence-centered education is effective with this generation because it provides direction, character education and a guide for healthy living. It gives hope for a brighter future to those regretting their sexual involvement. It encourages parents to participate in and lead this discussion.

To read Chad’s full analysis, visit the On Faith blog.

One in three teen mothers (34%) do not graduate from high school, according to Child Trends new fact sheet, Diploma Attainment Among Teen Mothers, while only 6 percent teen females who did not become pregnant never finished high school.

Consider this. What guarantees a teen will not become pregnant? Abstinence.

Abstinence, then, is also a sure-fire behavior for increasing teen women’s chances of graduating and reaching educational milestones. Moreover, the lead author of the Child Trends study notes that higher educational attainment can not only reduce teen pregnancy, it can also break inter-generational cycles of teen pregnancies.

So we must ask, do we want to provide our daughters and granddaughters the best possible chance of fulfilling their brightest and most beneficial potential? Helping teen girls to remain abstinent from sex – not merely “safer” when having sex – is a policy with guaranteed returns!

Other related Child Trends Research Briefs:

• Ten Reasons to Still Keep the Focus on Teen Childbearing
• Estimated Percentage of Females Who Will Become Teen Mothers: Differences Across States

Sex is a tough subject to approach with your children, no doubt. You stutter, they squirm. But if parents don’t present the truth about sex and solid family values, plenty of sexually harmful messages are waiting in the shadows, classrooms and school halls.

Recent research in Pediatrics indicates that teen sexual activity is beginning before parents ever approach the subject – not good!

Research Findings:

• Less than one-third of parents had ever talked to their children about reasons for not having sex.
• By the time teens were engaging in genital touching with a partner, only 17% of parents had talked to their girls and 6% to their boys about how to refuse unwanted sexual advances.
• Parents had not yet discussed refusal skills and the importance of not pressuring a partner into sex in about 25% of girls and 40% of boys by the time that they had engaged in sexual intercourse.

The Talk:

Be open, vulnerable, get involved and be real. Don’t be afraid to laugh and admit it’s awkward. This is one of the most important conversations you’ll ever have with your child.

Good resources for quick information:

• Dear Parents – Let’s Talk About Doing
• Before The Talk: Dealing with Our Past
• Talking to Pre-Teen or Teen About Waiting
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
• Sex is never “safe,” even with a condom or the pill
• The Medical Institute- information on sexually transmitted diseases
• The Medical Institute FAQ
• STD Wizard can calculate risks of sexual behaviors (a real eye-opener for teens)
• Trouble with pornography? Visit Pure Intimacy
• Tough questions, good answers
• Teen Sexual Behavior Quick Facts
• Oral Sex Quick Facts

Five out of 12 major anti-family policies in the omnibus spending bill are related to funding abortions and liberalizing sex education. You can thank bill-supporting Members of Congress (House, Senate) and our President for the following “gifts” just before Christmas 2009:

• Elimination of abstinence education funds ($zero$)
• Funding for Planned Parenthood (Title X funding boost to $315M)
• Publicly funded abortions for D.C. residents in our nation’s Capitol
• U.S. funding for U.N. population control, including China’s one-child policy and subsequent abortions (U.S. Taxpayers will pay $5M more)
• International family planning – fund overseas abortions – Mexico City Policy – ($103M more)

The Heritage Foundation posted a Web article titled, “Twelve Anti-Family Gifts From Congress,” [Dec. 22, 2009],   that lists another seven egregious funds and policies passed in by Congress in the omnibus spending bill. Policies such as more funding to keep people on welfare, needle exchange, limiting free speech, ending D.C. scholarship program, domestic partner benefits for D.C. employees and legalized “medical” marijuana … “high” in a pear treeeeee …

Supporting Members of Congress voted in favor of this bill, and President Obama signed it into law. We certainly hope they enjoy all the Piggy Pudding they passed in the $1.1 Trillion Pork-nibus spending bill with more than 5,000 earmarks.

Though this battle was lost in 2009, the war is far from over in 2010.

MORE INFORMATION

• See a PDF of The Heritage Foundation’s Twelve Anti-Family Gifts From Congress … 
• See Appendix for 2010 Budget of the U.S. Government … 
• See Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 – H.R. 3288 (omnibus spending bill) …  [PDF]

Golf champion, Tiger Woods, became a legacy on the green, but he certainly didn’t model his moral code after NBA Lakers’ champion, A.C. Green. Sexual secrets have a way of rising to the surface, and now Woods has much regret and much to repair.

Sports reporter, Chris Erskine of the Los Angeles Times, contrasts Lakers’ national champion, A.C. Green to golf pro, Tiger Woods. Despite years of temptation and being in the national spotlight, A.C. Green was a virgin when he married – even after 40 years.

Young singles, be encouraged by Green’s story and ask yourself, who’s living a happier life: Tiger Woods or A.C. Green? Sex has consequences, so save it for a stable, faithful, committed marriage. A.C. Green did – for more than 40 years! If you want the best, most satisfying sex without the hardships and negative consequences, order’s important. First a faithful, loving, committed marriage, then great, satisfying sex can blossom.

Popular culture tells us that if the sex is good, the relationship will also be good. What a crock! Any physically healthy male and female can have sex, but where’s the commitment, love and promise of a future? 

No, a “good relationship” is not defined by sex. Rather, great sex is a byproduct of a great, stable and loving relationship. The sexual act without relationship and commitment is void of meaning and has no long-term satisfaction. Don’t you want more – the best?

My advice? Follow Green’s example.

Read the full article, Tiger Woods, meet A.C. Green [Los Angeles Times, 12-10-2009].

Question: Should we keep pouring taxpayer money into treating the symptoms of casual sex (like the current healthcare bill), or should we cut to the root of the problem, addressing behavior modification?

If we continue to promote – and treat symptoms of – casual sex, groups like Planned Parenthood and other “free-sex” advocates will remain self-perpetuating storms.

Their “business,” if you will, is promoting casual sex.  They work to make risky behavior acceptable and then they get paid to “fix” the problems. Sex is the goal in their agenda, and pushing condoms is their method. Symptom treatment is a vacuous black hole for healthcare funding that never ends.

Conversely, if we cut to the root of the problem by modifying culture and changing sexual behavior, taxpayers and government stand to save money. Character-based abstinence education seeks to achieve this objective.

But there’s another twist: couples are getting married later – 26 for women, 28 for men. Brad Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project, describes how the courtship narrative in former generations was set: dating, engagement, marriage and then children. Now the narrative is disrupted by a tenuous time gap, leaving 20-somethings in a “relational wasteland.”  Some recommend earlier marriage as a solution.

Casual sex and cohabitation have not proven to be effective substitutes for the long-term stability and contentment of lifelong marriage. But they have successfully spread sexual diseases and created unplanned pregnancies. 

So, do we keep promoting casual sex, treating and repeating the symptoms? Or cut to the heart of the issue and address behavior, possibly encouraging earlier marriage?

More …
Capitol Research Center – What type of sex education really pays off?