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Good news for abstinence funding—maybe

gigsby — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 19:14:45 +0000

The U.S. Congress has passed a bill that includes a one-year extension of Title V Abstinence Education funding. The problem is, there are some things in the bill that President Bush is unhappy with and it’s possible he will veto it. You can get more details by checking out the story entitled, Bill Would Extend Abstinence Funding, on the North Carolina Family Policy Council web site.

Reborn Virgin Women

gigsby — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:15:32 +0000

A woman now living in Cary, North Carolina says practicing abstinence helped her find a husband. Cat Lewis was 35 and living in San Francisco at the time. She’d tried the traditional dating scene, which included sex with a lot of men, and it left her empty and empty handed. She decided to give abstinence a try and found a meaningful relationship and marriage within a year. Her story is featured in an article in the Cary News, entitled, Abstinence Made Her Heart Grow Fonder. She’s written a book about her appreciation for the value of practicing abstinence at any age. It’s called Reborn Virgin Women. You can also visit Cat’s web site at www.rebornvirgin.com to learn more and to get some practical tips on why abstinence works.

The heat turned up on Planned Parenthood

gigsby — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:16:02 +0000

It seems that I spend a great deal of time linking to the Family Research Council (FRC) web site these days. There is good reason. They are putting a lot of energy into talking about abstinence related topics. Those of you who have been following this blog for a while, know that, in the early days, I spent a great deal of time arguing against federal funding for Planned Parenthood. The fact that the organization’s profits are so intertwined with abortion disqualifies them as an unbiased party when it comes to advising young people what to do with an unplanned pregnancy. You can read that post and download the paper, I wrote on that, Planned Parenthood: Federalizing an Ideology, by clicking here.

FRC is raising the temperature on the issue by circulating a petition calling for a halt to any Title X federal funding for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s (and world’s) largest abortion provider. You can read about that by clicking here.

True love revolution

gigsby — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:58:25 +0000

I just found a great new web site started by some Harvard University students. It’s called True Love Revolution and it’s all about why it’s important for college students—even college students at Ivy League schools—to wait for marriage to have sex.

The group hosts speakers on campus such as Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D., who tackle the topic “Smart Sex: Finding Life-long Love in a Hook-up World,” then rolls the messages to podcasts and downloadable audio so they can be listened to anytime. There are similar groups on other campuses such as Princeton, MIT, and Arizona State University.

The New York Times ran an article on the movement on college campuses. It’s called Students of Virginity by Randall Patterson (March 30, 2008). Check it out!

Thanks to Jackson Moore for his tip on this story.

Condom goal falls far short

gigsby — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 01:20:33 +0000

First, let me apologize for a lapse in posting the past few weeks. I have started a new job with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina as the new Creative Team Leader. I’m still taking graduate level classes in Communication at NC State University so life has been full. I’m sure you know what that’s like.

Anyway, a quote in a recent article by the Family Research Council entitled, Condom Culture’s Trojan Horse, jolted me back into the blogging mode. The statement? “About one in every five teens using condoms becomes pregnant within one year, according to the National Survey of Family Growth.” That means, even on the occasion that condom education induces teens to use condoms, they still, on average, get pregnant 20% of the time within one year. That’s rather amusing considering the constant attacks by condom promoters which suggest that abstinence education is not effective.

Read the entire story, which exposes the falacies in a recent full-page ad that Trojan condom company ran in major newspapers recently.

What Planned Parenthood thinks kids should know

gigsby — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 14:14:55 +0000

If you’ve never checked out the Planned Parenthood web site for teens, you should take a look. It will give you a jolt of a wake up call in regards to what this organization and supporters of “Comprehensive Sexuality Education” (CSE) think our school-aged children need to know. Click here to do some investigating on Teenwire. Just be warned that the content if very explicit.

Family Research Council has a story on the web site entitled, Taxpayer Funded Porn Guide. Click here to see this story. Cybercast News Service (CNSNEWS.COM) has a story as well entitled, Planned Parenthood Web Site Promotes Porn to Teens.

It’s important for taxpayers and lawmakers to understand what is meant by CSE and the types of things that its supporters believe that our children need to be taught in school. A recent Zogby International poll shows that once parents know what is really taught in CSE curricula, they reject it.

HPV linked to throat cancer

gigsby — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 15:43:03 +0000

We’ve heard quite a bit about HPV and its link to cervical cancer. However, recent studies show that HPV can also cause throat cancer for those who engage in oral sex. As a matter of fact, HPV may be a higher risk factor than smoking for oropharyngeal cancer (back of throat/base of tongue area). Thanks to Wait4YourMate blog which has this story today. To see an indepth article about the research, you can click on this story from WebMD Medical News.

ABC program getting rave reviews in Africa

gigsby — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:47:28 +0000

According to a Family Research Council (FRC) article today, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is getting rave reviews this week as President Bush tours through Africa. PEPFAR is also dubbed ABC (Abstinence, Be faithful, if you don’t do those, use a Condom) because of its emphasis on Abstinence first. The article states, “With approval ratings well into the 80th percentile in nations like Kenya and Ghana, the President’s popularity is a true testament to the contribution that America’s generosity has made to the health and safety of the African people.”

Meanwhile, Congress is considering stripping the Abstinence component from PEPFAR. “When the PEPFAR comes up for reauthorization on February 28, Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.)–Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee–will make every effort to strip the ABC model from the bill in favor of money for abortion providers and promoters.“

You can read the entire article and what effects this would have on U.S. policy regarding AIDS overseas, by clicking here.

President Bush fights to keep abstinence in ABC

gigsby — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 18:53:53 +0000

President Bush is in Tanzania today imploring Congress to renew his AIDS initiative which includes an earmark that steers a portion of that money into abstinence education programs in foreign countries. PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) will expire in one year if not renewed by Congress. According to an Associated Press report, President Bush is highlighting AIDS efforts as he makes a tour of five African nations this week. “My attitude toward Congress is, see what works,” Bush said. “PEPFAR is working. It is a balanced program. It is an ABC program — abstinence, be faithful and condoms. It is a program that’s been proven effective.”

A posting on the Family Research Council blog shows the extent of the commitment by the Bush administration to fight AIDS around the globe.

In his State of the Union address on January 28, 2003, President George W. Bush announced the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). PEPFAR is the largest commitment ever by any nation for an international health initiative dedicated to a single disease — a five-year, $15 billion, and multifaceted approach to combating the disease around the world. The United States now leads the world in its level of support for the fight against HIV/AIDS.

During his 2008 State of the Union address, President Bush highlighted the successes of PEPFAR and once again called on Congress to reauthorize the program for an additional $30 billion over five years. He noted:

…America is leading the fight against disease. With your help, we are working to cut by half the number of malaria-related deaths in 15 African nations. And our Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is treating 1.4 million people. We can bring healing and hope to many more. So I ask you to maintain the principles that have changed behavior and made this program a success. And I call on you to double our initial commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS by approving an additional $30 billion over the next 5 years. …

You can get more information on PEPFAR and see the new documentary that Warner Brothers Entertainment produced on the effort by going to www.pepfar.gov.

Presidential candidates on abstinence education

gigsby — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 14:36:27 +0000

According to the web site Women’s News on November 11, 2007, here are the stands that the remaining presidential candidates are taking on abstinence education.
Democrats—Hillary Clinton has favored abstinence-plus for a decade. Barack Obama says he respects abstinence as a choice but also advocates age-appropriate comprehensive sex education. Republicans—John McCain promotes abstinence-only programs but has previously promoted comprehensive sex education. Mitt Romney promoted abstinence education in Massachusetts classrooms as governor of that state from 2003 to 2007. Romney, however, checked a box saying he supported comprehensive sex education in a 2002 Planned Parenthood candidate survey. Mike Huckabee favors abstinence-only and opposes abstinence-plus. Ron Paul favors abstinence-only programs.You can read the complete story by clicking here.