Abstinence

Obama risking pro-life backlash

The Washington Times

Barack Obama's pursuit of evangelical voters has pushed the abortion issue to the fore of the campaign debate and risks mobilizing pro-life voters - who so far have been apathetic about Republican John McCain - to oppose the Democrat. "Obama might think he´s making inroads by bringing up the reduction of abortion, but putting the issue on the table makes it fair game to explore how extreme he really is," said Justin Taylor, a book editor and evangelical blogger. Mr. Obama has talked about reducing the number of "unwanted pregnancies" and is trying to appeal to pro-life voters with a platform aimed at reducing factors that lead to abortions, such as poverty and lack of sex education for young people. But the Illinois Democrat remains unapologetically pro-choice, and his voting record on the issue has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks. Pro-life groups point to Mr. Obama's opposition in the Illinois legislature to the Born Alive Infant Protection Act and to his 2007 statement to Planned Parenthood that he hopes one of his first acts as president would be to sign a bill that would eliminate state and local government restrictions on abortion.

For Muslim women in Europe, a medical road back to virginity

International Herald Tribune

PARIS: The surgery in the private clinic off the Champs-Élysées involved one semicircular cut, 10 self-dissolving stitches and a discounted fee of $2,900. But for the patient, a 23-year-old French student of Moroccan descent from Montpellier, the 30-minute procedure represented the key to a new life: the illusion of virginity. Like an increasing number of other Muslim women in Europe, she had a "hymenoplasty," a restoration of her hymen, the thin vaginal membrane that normally breaks during the first act of intercourse.

Study: One-Fourth Of NYC Residents Have Herpes

WCBS TV in New York City

NEW YORK (CBS) ― Now might be the time for New Yorkers to take advantage of the free condom campaign the city promotes. A new study by the city's Health Department found more than a quarter of adult residents are infected with the herpes virus. According to the study, 26 percent of city residents have the virus that causes genital herpes, an incurable sexually-transmitted infection that can cause painful genital sores and can double a person's risk for HIV. Nationally, 19 percent of the population has the infection, according to the department. More specifically, the study showed that the rate is higher among women than men – 36 percent compared to 19 percent – and was higher among blacks than whites – 49 percent versus 14 percent, respectfully.

Bullet 333Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Bullet 333Phil Burress, President, Citizens for Community Values
Bullet 333Alan Chambers, President, Exodus International
Bullet 333Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr., Assistant Director, Life Education and Resource Network
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333Scott Davis, Director of Student Ministries, Exodus International
Bullet 333Len Deo, President, New Jersey Family Policy Council
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tim G. Echols, President/Founder, TeenPact
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Georgette Forney, Co-Founder, Silent No More
Bullet 333Todd Friel, Radio Host, Way of the Master
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Bullet 333Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Bullet 333Dr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers Ministries
Bullet 333Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Elizabeth Racine, Founder, Moralert.com
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Christopher Slattery, Founder and President, EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers
Bullet 333David Smith, Executive Director, Illinois Family Institute
Bullet 333Randy Thomas, Executive Vice President, Exodus International

ECHARD RECIPIENT OF SUSAN B. ANTHONY YOUNG LEADER AWARD

Eagle Forum

Washington, D.C.—Wednesday night before a full crowd at the historic Willard InterContinental Hotel in downtown Washington, D.C., Eagle Forum Executive Director Jessica Echard received the Susan B. Anthony Young Leader Award for pro-life leadership. Presented by the Susan B. Anthony List at their inaugural Campaign for Life Gala, the award recognizes young women making a difference for the lives of the unborn. The SBA List educates and mobilizes pro-life women to become involved in the political process by voting, running for public office, and funding pro-life campaigns. The organization is named after the suffragette Susan B. Anthony because she was an outspoken critic of abortion. Although she is known for helping women win the right to vote, it is often untold in history that she was strongly pro-life. “I am honored to receive this award named after Susan B. Anthony,” Echard stated. “As a woman, standing up against the feminists and the pro-abortion crowd is a privilege. But the cause of the unborn child is really a fight for all of us. When the government sanctions the taking of innocent life, what security have we in any other freedom?”

In sex ed, abstinence-only loses support but keeps funds

USA Today

For Christian conservatives, the pregnancy, at 16, of Nickelodeon actress Jamie Lynn Spears — the wholesome star of Zoey 101 and younger sister of troubled singer Britney Spears — poses a good news-bad news dilemma. "We should commend girls like Jamie Lynn Spears for making a courageous decision to have the baby," summed up Bill Maier, vice president of the conservative ministry Focus on the Family. "On the other hand, there's nothing glamorous or fun about being an unwed teen mother."

Jamie Lynn Spears Says She's Pregnant

The Atlanta Journal Constitution

NEW YORK — Another Spears baby is reportedly on the way — and it's not Britney's. Jamie Lynn Spears, the 16-year-old "Zoey 101" star and sister of Britney, told OK! magazine that she's pregnant and that the father is her boyfriend, Casey Aldridge. "It was a shock for both of us, so unexpected," she said. "I was in complete and total shock and so was he." Spears is 12 weeks along and initially kept the news to herself when she learned of the pregnancy from an at-home test and subsequent doctor visit, she told the celebrity magazine, which hits stands in New York on Wednesday and the rest of the country by Friday. What message does she want to send to other teens about premarital sex? "I definitely don't think it's something you should do; it's better to wait," she told the magazine. "But I can't be judgmental because it's a position I put myself in."

Maine Middle School to Offer the Pill

ABC News

Pupils at a city middle school will be able to get birth control pills and patches at their student health center after the local school board approved the proposal Wednesday evening. The plan, offered by city health officials, makes King Middle School the first middle school in Maine to make a full range of contraception available to students in grades 6 through 8, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services. There are no national figures on how many middle schools, where most students range in age from 11 to 13, provide such services.

St. Lucie superintendent recommends revised sex ed program

Palm Beach Post

St. Lucie County Schools Superintendent Michael Lannon plans to recommend that the school board adopt a proposed sex education curriculum, with some modifications, and begin using it in the schools this year. The proposed curriculum, called Get Real About AIDS, would be primarily for high school students, but aspects of it could be used in middle school, he said. His proposal calls for students to begin learning about diseases, such as HIV and AIDS, in seventh grade. Eighth-graders would be the first to learn about condoms, he said. "The fact is students that age, in some cases, are having sex," he said. The proposed curriculum has drawn fire from people who believe it promotes the use of contraceptives over abstinence and contains "graphic and sexually explicit material." They have particularly objected to in-class demonstrations of condoms and an exercise in which students purchase condoms at the drug store, an activity they dubbed the "condom field trip." The school district has received about 2,800 petitions from people opposed to it, and many people have spoken against it at school board meetings.

House Dems Look to Cut Federal Funding for Abstinence Education

FoxNews.com

WASHINGTON — Federal funding for abstinence education will likely fall considerably this year as Democratic leaders said Wednesday they will let a $50 million grant program expire on June 30. The program, known as Title V, has not proven to be effective, said Rep. John Dingell, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Dingell's committee has jurisdiction over Title V funding. With a budget deficit and a war, he said the decision to eliminate funding was not a difficult one. "Abstinence-only seems to be a colossal failure," Dingell said.

Study: Abstinence Classes Failing

CBS News

(AP) Students who took part in sexual abstinence programs were just as likely to have sex as those who did not, according to a study ordered by Congress. Also, those who attended one of the four abstinence classes that were reviewed reported having similar numbers of sexual partners as those who did not attend the classes. And they first had sex at about the same age as other students — 14.9 years, according to Mathematica Policy Research Inc.

Head of Welfare, Abstinence Programs Resigns

USA Today

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wade Horn, the Bush administration's point man for welfare reform, Head Start and abstinence education, resigned Monday as assistant secretary for children and families. In the Department of Health and Human Services, Horn oversaw a $46 billion budget and 65 programs that serve vulnerable children and families. He is best known for his work on issues embraced by social conservatives, such as more money for faith-based groups and organizations that work to help couples improve their marriage. Republicans gave some of those programs significant funding increases when they were in the majority. For example, Congress set aside for the next five years up to $100 million a year to promote marriage and $50 million a year to produce committed fathers. Similar expansions may be harder to come by with a Democratic majority.

Bullet 333Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Bullet 333Phil Burress, President, Citizens for Community Values
Bullet 333Alan Chambers, President, Exodus International
Bullet 333Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr., Assistant Director, Life Education and Resource Network
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333Scott Davis, Director of Student Ministries, Exodus International
Bullet 333Len Deo, President, New Jersey Family Policy Council
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tim G. Echols, President/Founder, TeenPact
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Georgette Forney, Co-Founder, Silent No More
Bullet 333Todd Friel, Radio Host, Way of the Master
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Bullet 333Dr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers Ministries
Bullet 333Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Jesse Lee Peterson, Founder and President, Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny
Bullet 333Elizabeth Racine, Founder, Moralert.com
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Christopher Slattery, Founder and President, EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers
Bullet 333David Smith, Executive Director, Illinois Family Institute
Bullet 333Randy Thomas, Executive Vice President, Exodus International
Bullet 333Lorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources Project

Parents Protest New Hampshire High School's 'Sex' Newspaper

Fox News

HAMPTON, N.H. — Some parents are protesting the "sex" edition of the student newspaper at Winnacunnet High School. Several said they were especially offended by a photograph of two women kissing under the headline, "Why men love women who love women," a quiz question about anal sex, and an interview with an unnamed custodian who said he had found a vibrator in the girls' shower. "Those articles offended me personally as a parent," said Venus Merrill, a school board member. "It's not something you want to read with your 10-year-old and it's not something that should be going home." Principal Randy Zito said the Winnachronicle had crossed the line of responsible reporting and that he had dealt with the problem privately. He also said he had pulled copies of the paper that normally would have been sent to middle schools in the cooperative school district.

Bullet 333Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Bullet 333Phil Burress, President, Citizens for Community Values
Bullet 333Alan Chambers, President, Exodus International
Bullet 333Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr., Assistant Director, Life Education and Resource Network
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333Scott Davis, Director of Student Ministries, Exodus International
Bullet 333Len Deo, President, New Jersey Family Policy Council
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tim G. Echols, President/Founder, TeenPact
Bullet 333James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Georgette Forney, Co-Founder, Silent No More
Bullet 333Todd Friel, Radio Host, Way of the Master
Bullet 333James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Bullet 333Dr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers Ministries
Bullet 333Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Harold Naylor, Co-Founder, DiscoverChristianSchools.com
Bullet 333Elizabeth Racine, Founder, Moralert.com
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Christopher Slattery, Founder and President, EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers
Bullet 333David Smith, Executive Director, Illinois Family Institute
Bullet 333Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Bullet 333Randy Thomas, Executive Vice President, Exodus International
Bullet 333Lorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources Project
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