What’s wrong with sex
education in schools?
By ABRAHAM V. LLERA, abrahamvllera@yahoo.com
June
8, 2010
"I will not at all be surprised if the kids are told that the sex
drive is a basic human instinct which is better given release than
restrained..."
Even an occasional
shepherd of the flock is all for the teaching in schools of sex
education to kids, so what’s wrong with DepEd’s plan to teach sex
education in Philippine high schools?
Well, everything, if
we are to believe
Vatican’s
Pontifical Council for the Family.
The Council,
instituted by John Paul II with the Motu Proprio Familia a Deo
Instituta in 1981, is responsible for the promotion of the
pastoral ministry and apostolate to the family, including sex
education, demographics, contraception and abortion; sterilization,
ethical and pastoral problems related to AIDS and other problems of
bioethics; legislation regarding marriage, the family, family policies
and the protection of human life. In other words, the Council has
jurisdiction over all questions pertaining to the burning issues of
the day: contraception, the RH bill, condoms, and, yes, sex education
in schools.
On December 8, 1995 at
the Vatican,
The Council came out with a document called “The Truth and Meaning of
Human Sexuality: Guidelines for Education within the Family.” In it,
the Council spelled out the principles underlying its teachings; the
principles that define the limits of information about sexuality; and
the practical guidelines on how the instruction must take shape, among
others.
In a series of
articles beginning with this one I will try to show how the teachings
of the Pontifical Council for the Family differs from that of DepEd’s,
or that of an occasional shepherd of the flock.
First, the Council
teaches that “human love is something of the body and the spirit in
the unity of the person.” Judging from the contents of the usual high
school science books, the content of talks given to high school kids
by POGS and Popcom, what I’ve read about the venom spread by Alfred
Kinsey, and the vehement opposition of the Church, I conclude that the
sex education materials DepEd insists on must be heavy with emphasis
on the body, but devoid of the spirit.
I suspect it will be
more or less like the seminars given to government health workers
where the participants are given plastic or wooden dicks to use when
demonstrating how to put on condoms. I will not even be surprised to
find graphic illustrations of the sexual act, and how contraceptives
will be effective in avoiding pregnancies. I will not at all be
surprised if the kids are told that the sex drive is a basic human
instinct which is better given release than restrained, or perhaps
that masturbation is a normal human reaction to the sexual drive which
harms no one. Some instructors might even ad lib that homosexual acts
or even pornography are acceptable.
I will be very
surprised if the sessions mention even a little about how sex is a
sacred act created by God for a specific purpose, that of raising
“godly offspring.” Indeed Malachi 2:15 couldn’t be clearer: “Has not
the LORD made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one?
Because he was seeking godly offspring.” I bet a month’s salary the
sessions will never say anything about man’s immense dignity; in fact,
I bet the sessions will picture man as not any different from dogs in
heat.
In a Facebook forum, I
had the chance to engage a Cebuana government health worker – who
prides herself in being a Sto. Nino devotee – in a lengthy
discussion. Our little exchange, of which the section below is but a
little part, is a revelation. Following is the text, verbatim. I
hold the infernal DOH responsible for this affront to God.
“I am a catholic, but
I am also a health care practitioner. I believe that with the right
sex education we can help stop the rise of AIDS, unwanted pregnancies
and STIs. We have this on our lecture. Yes we also believe in
abstinence, but with the current situation we have, it is simply not
always applicable. We cannot control our human urges, let alone our
hormones. We crave, we are humans. That is why we have to be practical
in a way that we are also protecting ourselves.
“Contraception is not
abortion. It only stops the sperm from reaching the egg but NOT to
kill a human being since there is no formation of an embryo/zygote. We
have to understand that not all women are applicable for the natural
contraception like the rhythm, basal body temperature. There are women
who have an irregular menstruation. How can a woman use natural birth
control if she has an irregular menstruation?
“In our lecture we had
ABC:
A-bstinence
B-e faithful
C-ondoms
D-o it yourself
E-njoy it!
“It’s not a sin to
prevent conception but it is a sin to kill a formed child. If the
sperm does not reach the ovum there is no fertilization, no baby, no
death. It is not a sin to have sex, but it is incorrect to have a lot
of kids but you don’t have any money to raise them. Where will you
place them? How will you feed them? Can you send them all to school?
That’s why our country is getting poorer and poorer. In this times,
even a couple who earns an average income has a hard time raising 2
kids how much more for a couple who earns below the average income and
raising 5-10 kids?”
To be continued…
