The folks on the left often include, in their arguments against voluntary prayer in schools, deep concern for children who, while not compelled to pray and even allowed to leave the room, would feel isolated and excluded if they did not participate with the other students in this prayer time.
Now, with the controversy over Obama’s vote to provide sex-ed down to the Kindergarten level, the left uses as a defense of Obama’s position the provision that a parent can opt-out on behalf of the student. Apparently there is no concern that the student would feel isolated and excluded when she left the room while all the other students remained for sex-ed (Note- underline and strikeout edit marks are as they appear on the Illinois website):
Sec. 27-9.1. Sex Education.
8 (a) No pupil shall be required to take or participate in
9 any class or course in comprehensive sex education if the
10 pupil’s his parent or guardian submits written objection
11 thereto, and refusal to take or participate in such course or
12 program shall not be reason for suspension or expulsion of
13 such pupil. Each class or course in comprehensive sex
14 education offered in any of grades K 6 through 12 shall
15 include instruction on the prevention of sexually transmitted
16 infections, including the prevention, transmission and spread
17 of HIV AIDS. Nothing in this Section prohibits instruction in
18 sanitation, hygiene or traditional courses in biology.
Since this was intended to be binding legislation, words and wording are important, so a bit of hair-splitting is appropriate.
If a student has a note from a parent, he is NOT REQUIRED to participate. What if the student feels uncomfortable leaving the class, or feels intimidated because all his friends are staying, can he choose to stay for the class or does the parent’s note require that he be removed from the room?
Even if you believe that providing “comprehensive sex education” to Kindergartners is a good idea, before this law was put to a vote the language associated with the opt-out provision should have been restructured. To me that would have been sufficient to warrant a vote of “no”, but certainly others might disagree or maybe just didn’t interpret the language the same way. Then again… I spend a lot of time thinking.
Before looking at the rest of the bill, let’s take a look at the campaign ads driving the chatter.
First the McCain ad:
There is nothing factually incorrect about this ad based upon what the Illinois Bill, SB99, states with regard to comprehensive sex education for Kindergartners.
Now a Planned Parenthood ad attacking McCain:
The Planned Parenthood ad, not surprisingly, chooses to ignore the bad aspects of the bill and focus on one provision in the bill. While the McCain ad focuses on the bad and not the good, the fact is that the entire bill was up for a vote and Obama chose to vote “Yes” on a bill that would have required comprehensive sex education K-12. The McCain ad is indeed true and the denial by Obama, Obama supporters and the MSM (I know, that is redundant) is deceptive.
The full text can be read at the link above, too long to include here, but here are some other key points from my perspective (underlining and strikeouts part of the original text; bold emphasis added by me; very minor editing, I tried to keep it in context):
7 Sec. 27-9.1. Sex Education.
8 (a) No pupil shall be required to take or participate in
9 any class or course in comprehensive sex education if the
10 pupil’s his parent or guardian submits written objection
11 thereto, and refusal to take or participate in such course or
12 program shall not be reason for suspension or expulsion of
13 such pupil. Each class or course in comprehensive sex
14 education offered in any of grades K 6 through 12 shall
15 include instruction on the prevention of sexually transmitted
16 infections, including the prevention, transmission and spread
17 of HIV AIDS. Nothing in this Section prohibits instruction in
18 sanitation, hygiene or traditional courses in biology.<snip>
7 All sex education courses that discuss sexual activity or
8 behavior intercourse shall satisfy the following criteria:
9 (1) Factual information presented in course
10 material and instruction shall be medically accurate and
11 objective.
12 (2) All (1) course material and instruction shall
13 be age and developmentally appropriate.
(Note: I bolded this section to point out that the bill does at least acknowledge there needs to be a recognition of age appropriateness to the presentation of the topics, however, the schools would still be required to cover the topics)
14 (3) Course material and instruction shall include a
15 discussion of sexual abstinence as a method to prevent
16 unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections,
17 including HIV.
18 (4) Course material and instruction shall present
19 the latest medically factual information regarding both
20 the possible side effects and health benefits of all
21 forms of contraception, including the success and failure
22 rates for the prevention of pregnancy and sexually
23 transmitted infections, including HIV.
24 (5) Course material and instruction shall include a
25 discussion of the possible consequences of unintended
26 pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including
27 HIV.
(Note: Is this really what we want to discuss with 5 year olds?)
28 (2) Course material and instruction shall teach
29 honor and respect for monogamous heterosexual marriage.
30 (3) Course material and instruction shall stress
31 that pupils should abstain from sexual intercourse until
32 they are ready for marriage.
33 (4) Course material and instruction shall include a
34 discussion of the possible emotional and psychological-3- LRB093 05269 NHT 05359 b
1 consequences of preadolescent and adolescent sexual
2 intercourse outside of marriage and the consequences of
3 unwanted adolescent pregnancy.
(Note the stricken parts… wouldn’t want to discuss monogamy, abstinence before marriage or fidelity.. way too controversial to be discussed in a classroom setting).
4 (6) (5) Course material and instruction shall
5 stress that sexually transmitted infections diseases are
6 serious possible hazards of sexual activity or behavior
7 intercourse. Pupils shall be provided with statistics
8 based on the latest medical information citing the
9 failure and success rates of all contraceptive methods
10 condoms in preventing unintended pregnancies and HIV AIDS
11 and other sexually transmitted infections diseases.
12 (7) (6) Course material and instruction shall
13 advise pupils of the laws pertaining to their financial
14 responsibility to children born in and out of wedlock.
(All important stuff to teach 5 year olds… uh huh)
Following is the section that Planned Parenthood and Obama supporters point to as justification for supporting this bill. I will concede there would be benefits gained from this aspect of the bill, but why not introduce separate legislation to provide this type of education instead of expanding comprehensive sex ed down to Kindergarten. You can not defend a bad bill by pointing to the good part of the bill. The bill in total is not good legislation and Obama could have, and should have, voted no and introduced an alternative bill… but he did not and he needs to explain why.
15 (8) (7) Course material and instruction shall
16 advise pupils that it is unlawful for males or females of
17 any age to engage in sexual conduct or have sexual
18 relations with a minor as specified in of the
19 circumstances under which it is unlawful for males to
20 have sexual relations with females under the age of 18 to
21 whom they are not married pursuant to Article 12 of the
22 Criminal Code of 1961, as now or hereafter amended.
23 (9) Course material and instruction shall discuss
24 and provide for the development of positive communication
25 skills to maintain healthy relationships and avoid
26 unwanted sexual activity.
27 (10) Course material and instruction shall
28 emphasize that the pupil has the power to control
29 personal behavior. Pupils shall be encouraged to base
30 their actions on reasoning, self-discipline, sense of
31 responsibility, self-control, and ethical considerations,
32 such as respect for oneself and others.
33 (11) (8) Course material and instruction shall
34 teach pupils to not make unwanted physical and verbal
-4- LRB093 05269 NHT 05359 b
1 sexual advances and how to say no to unwanted sexual
2 advances and shall include information about verbal,
3 physical, and visual sexual harassment, including without
4 limitation nonconsensual sexual advances, nonconsensual
5 physical sexual contact, and rape by an acquaintance. The
6 course material and instruction shall contain methods of
7 preventing sexual assault by an acquaintance, including
8 exercising good judgment and avoiding behavior that
9 impairs one’s judgment. The course material and
10 instruction shall emphasize personal accountability and
11 respect for others and Pupils shall be taught that it is
12 wrong to take advantage of or to exploit another person.
13 The material and instruction shall also encourage youth
14 to resist negative peer pressure. The course material and
15 instruction shall inform pupils of the potential legal
16 consequences of sexual assault by an acquaintance.
17 Specifically, pupils shall be advised that it is unlawful
18 to touch an intimate part of another person as specified
19 in the Criminal Code of 1961.
20 (12) Course material and instruction shall teach
21 male pupils about male accountability for sexual violence
22 and shall teach female students about reducing
23 vulnerability for sexual violence.
24 (13) Course material and instruction shall teach
25 pupils about counseling, medical, and legal resources
26 available to survivors of sexual abuse and sexual
27 assault, including resources for escaping violent
28 relationships.
29 (14) Course material and instruction shall teach
30 pupils that it is wrong to take advantage of or to
31 exploit another person.
32 (15) Course material and instruction shall be free
33 of racial, ethnic, gender, religious, or sexual
34 orientation biases.
Bottom line: McCain’s ad is correct, Obama did support a bill in Illinois that would bring comprehensive sex education to Kindergartners.
The attack launched by the left against McCain is an attempt to rewrite Obama’s record in a better light for the sole purpose of getting him elected… what a surprise.
UPDATE 9/24/08: Adding a link to someone who doesn’t think much of this post.
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Younger children have to be taught to stay clear from dangerous things, areas, persons or situations. Comprehensive sex education is overkill. And teachers are in a kind of conflict of interests. Most sexually aggressive conduct towards children and teenagers come from relatives, priests, pastors, etc. and teachers. Things might have changed, but this is the way things used to be.
Wait a minute! Isn’t Planned Parenthood registered as a non-profit? They also receive tons of federal dollars. How can they legally be putting out campaign ads that support/attack specific candidates?
Karen,
Wondered that myself so did a bit of research. The ad was created by their PAC, which differs from a 527 like Swfiteboat in that a PAC is allowed to directly support a candidate as opposed to speaking out on an issue.
From their website: The Planned Parenthood Action Fund Political Action Committee (Planned Parenthood Federal PAC) is a non-partisan political action committee committed to supporting pro-choice, pro-family planning candidates for federal office.
Annoying perhaps, but legal.
BA,
I agree. In fact I would recommend legislation that covers two specific areas, educating children on what is apprpriate and what is not appropriate (in an age specific manner of course) while requiring teachers, aids and anyone else who will come in contact with children in the school environment, to submit to a comprehensive background check and also require yearly training on appropriate conduct and how to recognize inappropriate conduct.
Thanks for the thoughts…
Great post. I was wondering about the PAC myself.
Thanks mcnorman. Amazing how the MSM helps sell the notion that McCain is being deceptive while Obama was the one who repeatedly lied about his support for the legislation.