Planned Parenthood Pushes Intensive Sex Education for Kids as Young as 10
Monday, February 08, 2010 
By Ed Barnes
"Stand and Deliver," a new report by the International Planned Parenthood Federation, advocates that children as young as 10 be given extensive sex education.
A new report by the International Planned Parenthood Federation is advocating that children as young as 10 be given extensive sex education, including an awareness of sex's pleasures.
The report, "Stand and Deliver," charges that religious groups, specifically Catholics and Muslims, deny their young access to comprehensive sexual programs and education.
"Young people's sexuality is still contentious for many religious institutions. Fundamentalist and other religious groups - the Catholic Church and madrasas (Islamic Schools) for example - have imposed tremendous barriers that prevent young people, particularly, from obtaining information and services related to sex and reproduction. Currently, many religious teachings deny the pleasurable and positive aspects of sex." the report states.
Click here to read the report.
The report demands that children 10 and older be given a "comprehensive sexuality education" by governments, aid organizations and other groups, and that young people should be seen as "sexual beings."
"Young people have the right to be informed about sexuality and to have access to contraceptives and other services," Bert Koenders, the Netherlands Minister for Development Cooperation, wrote in the foreword to the report. It was his organization that helped fund the report.
The report argues that sex education should be "recast" to show sexuality as a "positive force for change and development, as a source of pleasure, an embodiment of human rights
and an expression of self."
Much like a U.N. report released last August that advocated teaching masturbation to children as young as 5, "Stand and Deliver" has set off a wave of protest among religious and conservative groups.
Ed Mechmann, spokesman for New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, charged that Planned Parenthood was "trying to teach children sex without values and that sex is a matter of pleasure and done without consequences."
He said religions like Catholicism and Islam teach sex as part of a much bigger picture and that Planned Parenthood was trying to de-link sex from traditional values.
"It is part of an effort to get children to reject traditional values and accept a liberal American-European view," he said. "In many traditional countries - Catholic and Muslim - it won't work and should be seen as cultural imperialism."
Mechmann also charged that Planned Parenthood's report was compromised because it has a financial stake advocating the changes. "The difference between Planned Parenthood and us is that we don't make money off what we teach and say. They do. They make money off contraceptives and abortions," he said.
Michelle Turner, president of the Maryland-based Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, said Planned Parenthood was simply trying to eliminate parental say.
"What are they trying to do? They are trying to eliminate the role of mom and dad in the family," Turner said. "For Planned Parenthood to decide that governments, private organizations and religious organizations should make decisions about kids' sexuality is just going too far."
"It is part of a bigger push to change the way we think about sex," she said. That sex is all about pleasure and there are no consequences. They are wrong. No matter how much we teach children, some will make mistakes. They will forget. And Planned Parenthood doesn't want to deal with that," she said.
"They see religious groups, especially those that counsel abstinence and waiting until marriage, as bad guys," she added. "We aren't."
Planned Parenthood said it was unable to comment because the report was issued by its European office and it was unable to contact them.
What do you ladies think of this??
I thought all kids got sex ed at 10. That's when we had it at our school.
Parents can always opt out. I don't see how it is wrong at the appropriate age to teach children how to protect themselves. Girls were having sex at 12 while I was in school. I am sure it's much younger now. Why is teaching our children a bad thing in this country?
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Anybody read it yet? I just did a healthy skim.
It's good. It's really good. It's about preventing STDs and unwanted pregnancy among young people in 3rd world countries, and promoting education to girls in those countries.
Fox New's report is preeeeeeety slanted. Nowhere in the actual document is exactly what steps should be taken, past sex-education and general education.
Quoting SxyMartini:
Parents can always opt out. I don't see how it is wrong at the appropriate age to teach children how to protect themselves. Girls were having sex at 12 while I was in school. I am sure it's much younger now. Why is teaching our children a bad thing in this country?
I agree, they can opt out, and what's bad about letting them learn? A lot of parents never get around to it before kids are already learning from their peers (and doing their peers!)
Maybe this will open the conversation between parents and their kids and take some pressure off them.
I've heard children as young as 8 are having sex...granted, it's a small minority, but still!
another reason to home school IMO. I believe if a parent want thier kids taught about sex that young its THEIR choice & they should do it. not planned parenthood.. . .though I suppose a lot of parents wont. It's my job to teach my son. . . not the schools
Yep. However that being said, I am glad for the sake of the kids who are being raised by the schools. It seems like a good idea to me. If you don't want your child learning about sex early, then I suggest you exercise your right to teach your own.
Quoting ColtsFan1912:
another reason to home school IMO. I believe if a parent want thier kids taught about sex that young its THEIR choice & they should do it. not planned parenthood.. . .though I suppose a lot of parents wont. It's my job to teach my son. . . not the schools
I am a huge advocate of comprehensive sex education. I really think abstinence only education is a big disservice to our youngsters. I skimmed parts of the report and plan to read the rest later when I have more time, it looks like some good information.
Its my personal opinion that sex education and precautions should be the responsibility of the parents, I dont want some stranger teaching my kids about that aspect of their bodies...at least not extensively. My parents never dealt with sex education...it was "you dont have sex until you are married...period." There was no talk about puberty, simply, "you'll start experiencing a monthly cycle around this age...when it happens we'll celebrate"...whereas my friends all had sex education in schools (which my parents were up in arms about) and this is where I got my information. While it was useful, I did not like how they encouraged my 11 year old best friend to experament sexually...to me, this encourages a careless sex life rather than a cautious one that prevents STDs and unwanted pregnancies. Its ignorant to think that we can somehow shelter our children from the lure of sex once they hit puberty, and condemning the matter altogether simply adds more to the lure of it! But I believe that if more parents developed a distinct relationship/communication with their adolecent children when it comes to sexual matters then we would see a rise in cautious sexual activity and a decline in careless sexual activity that leads to STDs and unwanted pregnancies. *note that I did not say a rise in abstinence...because while I think that would be ideal, its not "logical" in this day and age...*
People try to fit the morality and reality of life in the United States to other countries and it just doesn't work. Young people between the ages of 15-24 account for 50% of all new HIV infections in the world.
If anyone looked at the report you would be stunned that 22% of the young women (15-24) in the African nation of Swaziland were HIV positive.
Girls are married off at extremely young ages in many of countries.
While you want to feign moral outrage stop and recognize that your reality does not fit into every situation and circumstance and yes it is groups like IPPF that are doing what they can to lower the mortality rate of the children in this world.
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