Pray for the ruling to be overturned :(

???

actually it's more like "ok, if this is the choice that you are going to make - here is how you can reduce your chances of pregnancy and/or contracting a sexually transmitted disease."

there are teenagers having sex.

there are teenagers who will continue having sex REGARDLESS of someone saying "no don't do that".

wouldn't you rather that they protect themselves from disease and/or pregnancy?

 

I think she meant that sometimes they can give your child an abortion (or at least drive them to the abortion clinic) if you sign that paper allowing them to administer a Tylenol. It actually DID happen not too long ago.

 

Exactly! Thank-you!

 

Yes ColoradoMom, that's what I meant. There was a school district that took a teen to an abortion clinic and they didn't have to tell the parents b/c they had signed that paper stating they could treat your child.

Gwenhwyfer- Don't you think it's the parents job and not the school districts job? IMO, I think the parents should be the ones giving their children condoms if the teens wish to have sex. That way the parents know what's going on, and they aren't left in the dark to what their teens are doing because the school district doesn't have to release any information as to who gets them and who doesn't. Again, JMO.

http://www.jmu.edu/evision/archive/volume1/essays/kelley.html "I am confident that if we took the time to ask why so many teenagers are sexually active today, we would discover the solution is not a simple one. Maybe we have not asked in fear of discovering that a satisfactory solution requires more thought and energy than deciding whether or not to keep a basket of condoms in the nurse's room." - This was a quote from the article link. I think it's a great read written by a teen about condom distribution and premarital sex.

 

Oh come on...LOL...if it makes you feel any better I am a product of my environment too. As we all are.

My point was that if you've been told your entire life that allowing people to engage in self destructive behavior is the new progressive outlook, then HOW would you have any other opinion?

I think people are for these (amoral) things because it is the opposite of what Christians preach and nothing else. It's a game and you're playing whether you know it or not.

How can you tell me you support needle exchanges if you understand what heroin does to a person's brain? How it kills them? You obviously don't understand because if you did you would not contribute to that person's slow and painful death.

So, instead of thinking about how insulted you are - think about addiction for a few minutes. Ask yourself how many addicts want to live that way?

I'd bet none. They want help - not needles. They want their lives back but that will almost never happen. The drug is too powerful. Even if they somehow find a way to break the cycle the neuro pathways in the brain have memory...the craving NEVER goes away.

Now tell me again how giving addicts needles is good.

I give this link out to my forensic science students when we talk about drug scheduling and addiction. Take a good look at it.

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/

Prostitution is more than just an act. The feelings one has through sexual pleasure are also connected to the brain. What does that do to a woman's (or man) psyche?

Why is it bad for young girls to be promiscuous? Because it is amoral? Maybe. But it goes beyond that - these acts are directly linked to the reward pathway in the brain, just like heroin is. It changes them.

You know it's wrong, you just can't get yourself to say that because it goes against your core belief that if two consenting adults want to have sex for money then no ones getting hurt.

 

Wow. :shock: What a converstaion.

I have read each and every post, respecting both sides of the arguement but staying out entirely. But now I am going to share my view point. Only not on the issue of prostitution.

Do you all (besides lonegirl and Gwenhwyfar) really think that if you give a kid a condom or some other form of birth control that will automatically make them go out and have sex? Really? I know for a fact that if I gave my daughter a condom to keep in her purse she would #1 think I was insane and #2 never use it. Why? Because her whole life we have openly communicated about everything. She isn't sheltered from much and knows that she can talk to me about anything and everything without judgment. So a teen who has been raised this way will not automatically go out and start screwing because she was given a condom. It is the other kids, the kids who have not been raised this way that need the condom or the birth control. You can preach abstinance all day long till the cows come home but the reality is that there are kids having sex. They are not listening to your christian preaching of what is moral and "right". I for one would rather those kids have safe and protected sex since they are going to do it anyway! Let's help keep unwanted babies from being born to teenagers who are not prepared to have them.

You all saying that giving a kid a condom is telling them it is ok is crazy. It isn't ok but they don't care what you think and they are going to do what they are going to do so make it safe for them. I mean that is like saying if you give a kid a cigarette they will smoke it because they think it is ok. Insane reasoning. Just as a kid who is raised a certain way will not just go out and start having sex neither will they just go out and start smoking. Now I am sitting here talking about kids "raised a certain way" and I mean kids like my daughter. Kids who are not totally sheltered from the world and have deep lines of open communication with their parents. At the same time those kids would feel comfortable talking to a parent when they are thinking of having sex. A good parent would talk to them openly and if it was really needed provide some sort of birth control. Telling a kid who has come to you about it that it is wrong and dirty and no way is it allowed and there will be no birth control and now they are grounded and to go in your room and read your Bible. Well......excpet a grandkid or std before they are outta high school.

Everyone else gave their opinion so I gave mine too. Like it or like it. Throw tomatoes or whatever else ya got. And yes I am a christian.

 

perhaps you didn't see my edit to that post?

wtf? do you really think that your religious beliefs are that important to the rest of us?

yeah. cuz we just get up every morning and ask ourselves "so, how can we get out there and go against christianity today?"

 

I do think for some kids, handing them a condom is a "go ahead" to do it. In other cases, not. So, what you're saying is...as long as they have open communication with their parents about the subject then they can decide together. That's fine. I am against Schools giving them out. It's between the parents and the child.

When my father was young his dad told him that he didn't give a rat's patoot if he drank, just as long as he did it at home, and got it from him rather than going somewhere else to get it and doing it with someone else less reponsible than himself. This is sort of the same thing. My point of view is: If you want to have sex, let ME be the first to know so we can decide as a family what to do. If we decide on a condom...get it from me rather than someone else. Let me know b/c I'm more responsible for you than the school district is.

I kinda view (in this instance) that the parent is a "responsible friend" and the school district is the "wreckless friend" in this simulation. If you are looking to have sex w/ your boyfriend/girlfriend you would ask your responsible friend what to do. They would say, "Well let's talk it over. Do you love him/her? How much? What if X happens afterwards? Where do you plan on seeing yourselves next year, next 5 years, 10? Tell me what has led up to this? Are you really ready? Is he/she really ready?" and so on. Then you turn to your "wreckless friend" and ask an opinion. This "wreckless friend" says, "Hey, I don't know what your circumstances are, or your reasons for doing this, and I don't have the time to ask so....here's a condom. Now, I'm not telling you what to do *wink* but if ya DO it...be safe, k?"

Like the article I provided above: Giving them a condom is a quick fix. Let's look into what's really going on, and try to figure out WHY they are having sex. It isn't all just raging hormones.

 

Meg I understand. I too don't want to school to teach my child about sex. That is why we as parents need to do it BEFORE the school does. That way if your child comes home and says "hey mom they handed out condoms today" you can laugh and say "oh really" and then that opens up another talk between parent and child. I guess I wasn't talking about the schools but parents. There are a lot of things schools have no business doing.

 

I should have put in my last post:

Yes, if my teen was having sex, I would want them to get condoms from me or dh, and no one else. I much rather them have sex with them than without. But, we are not going to say, "Here is you some condoms, just in case you decide to have sex."

 

I couldn't agree with you more!

 

Me, too!

 

Well, tensions are running high. Again, some of us have different worldviews thus on some issues we will never agree.

I do not think it is a logical argument that just because it happens anyway is a reason to legalize something. Murder happens...rape happens...theft happens...all of that happens regardless of the law. I know that was an extreme and a bit flawed example..but the point is that the argument is illogical.

I also do not think schools should hand out condoms although I do see the point of it. If I were not of the mindset or belief system I dedicated my life to I may even agree. However, I cannot condone an action that goes against my beliefs or I would be a hypocrite. That is not to say that I should be making the decisions. That is simply to say that if you ask my opinion that is what you will get...my opinion. No, I do not think that if you hand a kid a condom it will mean he/she will have sex. However, I do think a kid is more likely too. Besides, for me that is not the point. The point is that there are some things that should be between a parent and a child. Sure there are households where that relationship is strained but why make all the decisions on how to conduct our schools based on poor relationships? There are concerned parents out there also and we also need fair representation.

Gwenhwyfar: Again this was NOT posed to me...but I don't think that everyone is concerned with my religion. In fact, it is just the opposite. All representation and fairness seems to be given to those with a secular humanist liberal worldview. Christians have very little the way we would like to see it in today's world. I realize you may have a different take.

Look, if the Christians on this board did NOT make the arguments we have we would be considered hypocrites. Even those who do not subscribe to the Christian faith know basically what we stand for and what we would not agree with. So...we all knew the ground we were walking on so let's not...both sides...waste time playing a game no one will win. We just need to agree to disagree on this one. At this point we are all just spinning our wheels and someone is going to get upset or offended.

Oh geesh...was that me shaky a finger telling you all you were being naughty...LOL...NO it was not...sorry if that gets interpreted as such...not my intent. I am just saying as I said before that on some issues we will never agree.

 

Very well stated Ava!

 

re: the bolded ~ i do actually get that & can understand it, because although our takes on the world are different, we do both (all) want the changes that we think are for the best.

my bone was really just with the whole:

"I think people are for these (amoral) things because it is the opposite of what Christians preach and nothing else."

..because i really don't think that's a fair statement. i did perhaps respond to it a bit coarsely, but hey - imagine if someone said to you "oh you only want X because it goes against the secular view" ... know what i mean?

 

and i get this as well ~ standing up for what you believe in, i can support that.

as it happens, i'm a big believer in freedom - of religion, of thought, speech etc...

how's that quote go.. something about even if i don't like what you say, i will defend your right to say it...

 

slightly OT, but as it happens ~ there are some things within the christian faith that i think are fabulous. i did actually attend church for a while - this is very personal for me, so please don't anyone jump all over it - and tried my hardest to believe what everyone there believed. for me, it didn't work. i did, however, see a lot of beauty & love. i saw some other things that i just can't get on board with, but i did see the positives... just wanted that stated.

 

and very OT, but Ava ~ your sig link to your site "under the golden apple tree" keeps putting the theme song to a slightly old canadian kids show in my head called "under the umbrella tree" :lol:

theme song

 

I get your meaning.