Posted on 05/13/2005 8:40:19 AM PDT by Phantom Lord
Abstinence speaker pushed religion in school, dad charges
An irate father is demanding that Bozeman High School present students with a rebuttal to what he called "extremely biased religious dogma" delivered by an assembly speaker who warned teens against the dangers of drugs, drinking and premarital sex.
Tom Wells, a Bozeman attorney and father of a ninth-grader, told the School Board on Monday night that he was appalled by the "thinly veiled ministry" and "misinformation" presented the week before by speaker Tina Marie Holewinski.
Holewinski, 27, of Hollywood, Calif., a full-time speaker with an organization called True Lies, defended her talk Tuesday as full of "hard-core facts" that could save teenagers' lives.
She denied that she interjected any of her religious beliefs in the talk, and added she'd been flooded with e-mail messages from grateful teens.
Principal Godfrey Saunders said Holewinski had presented the messages school officials are most concerned about each spring, with prom and graduation approaching -- Don't drink, drink and drive, don't use drugs.
But, Saunders said, she had gone beyond what they were expecting to present her own views about abstinence.
Saunders said he had spoken to students through the school intercom the next morning to say that what Holewinski discussed about condoms and birth control pills isn't what is taught in the school's sex-ed curriculum, though it also emphasizes abstinence.
"She went off-message," Superintendent Mike Redburn said. "We share (Wells') concerns."
Wells demanded the school give equal time to rebut the "misinformation" his son heard: that condoms lead to cancer, that birth control pills are only 20 percent effective, that sexually transmitted diseases are spread by skin contact alone, that third-trimester fetuses can be aborted, that video games lead to homicide, that human papilloma virus can be transferred through condoms and that teens can achieve "second virginity" through abstinence.
Holewinski responded that she spoke mainly against against drugs, drinking and driving, and debunked "the media's" glamorization of sex, alcohol, drugs and violence.
She maintained it's true that there are cancer-causing agents in latex condoms; that 80 percent of teenage girls who seek abortions are already on birth-control pills; and that human papilloma virus is small enough to pass through condoms. She said she does promote the idea of second virginity.
The school paid Holewinski paid $1,500 for her talk and expenses.
Pat Strauss, assistant principal, said much of Holewinski's talk did cover what they'd asked for, but then all of a sudden she'd throw in zingers, like condoms have 15 different carcinogens, or that birth control pills cause cervical cancer or sterility.
The reaction from the 1,800 students was split 50/50, he said. Some teachers said the talk prompted some lively discussions.
"We tried to do something good for our kids -- be safe, get everybody through graduation," Strauss said. "That's what's most disappointing."
A cursory review of Internet sites on just one of Holewinski's disputed topics turned up numerous sites asserting condoms are linked to cancer; however, the pro-condom Planned Parenthood site contends that abstinence-only supporters have put out a number of myths about condoms over the years.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Web site doesn't discuss any condom-cancer link. It does say, "a condom could save your life" by greatly reducing the chances of getting sexually transmitted diseases, especially AIDS. It adds, "sex with condoms isn't totally 'safe sex,' but it is 'less risky' sex."
Why is that a contradiction? Are all Nintendo games violent?
You bring out some excellent points.
Wow. She is homely!
Now, now - don't hold back, tell us how you really feel about us.
(BTW - you have the anger of a Democrat - what's up with that?)
Nothing. So long as you teach kids how to protect themselves if they decide to not remain abstinent.
1. It's totally unrealistic;
2. Its supporters KNOW that it is totally unrealistic, and resort to telling outrageous lies in order to convince people of the merits of their argument, as we see in the example of the speaker in this article.
This annoys me very much. Just because, apparently, YOU couldn't be abstinent, it does not mean others cannot be.
My 21 year old daughter is engaged to be married and the thing that bothers her the most are people who automatically assume that she and her fiance are sleeping together.
There a a lot of young young people waiting until marriage.
Just think of the benefits:
NO STD's
NO pregnancies
NO abortions
Sounds good to me.
My husband and I waited and it is wonderful to look my kids in the eye and say YES, it is possible to wait. Hard to wait? Yes, but definately worth it.
Jesus should be separated from the rest?
That the talks contained misinformation isn't a fact and could be disputed. Tom's disagreement has nothing to do with the validity of an abstinence from sex policy. It is centered around the faith of the speaker and is therefore an ad hominem attack.
The father actually wanted, "equal time to rebut the "misinformation" his son heard". The talk was about abstinence and he wants to "rebut" that. Here's a grown man that wants to come to the school and speak out against abstinence. He wants to get on the loudspeaker during morning announcements and essentially say, "hey girls time to give it up to my boy"
Don't you think that's just a little screw ball?
Isn't it great that there are no worries about STD's. EVER.
Well put.
I love your tagline. I think about it in idle moments, waiting for enlightment to dawn.
Ok. So are you also going to provide them with cigarettes and alcohol?
They are going to smoke and drink anyway...
Yes they do... Throat Cancer!!!
Yes, I totally believe that teenagers having sex are the moral equivalent of Atta and Rudolph.
Please. That's the weakest straw man I've ever seen.
All I'm saying is that if you want to encourage teens to practice abstinence, then do it in a manner that makes it seem like a rational choice. If you try to scare teens into doing something, they're going to do the opposite.
Maybe we ought to provide access to a clean bed. No telling what dangers could be avoided when sex takes place in a car in some dangerous isolated area.
No, the dad wants to rebut the misinformation in the speech, not the concept of abstinence itself. Reed the article--STDs can be spread through skin contact, condoms are 20% effective, etc. Clear lies, all told to advance the speaker's agenda.
Marlboro
Winston
Camel
Anheuser-Busch
Vox Vodka
Miller
ontap.com
Glamour Magazine & Mademoiselle Magazine (loaded with articles on sex and how to please your man)
Nope. No contradictions here.
FTA:
"Wells demanded the school give equal time to rebut the "misinformation" his son heard: that condoms lead to cancer, that birth control pills are only 20 percent effective, that sexually transmitted diseases are spread by skin contact alone, that third-trimester fetuses can be aborted, that video games lead to homicide, that human papilloma virus can be transferred through condoms and that teens can achieve "second virginity" through abstinence."
Read the sentence again, he is wanting a rebut of the misinformation contained in the speech not the speech itself.
Are you saying that birth control pills are only 20 percent effective? If you are...you are WRONG. STD's spread by skin contact alone? WRONG, also spread by fluids.
See the difference?
HPV is spread through skin contact, does cause cervical cancer (and genital warts), and there is no evidence that condoms are effective in preventing its transmission.
I got my information from the Center for Disease Control's website. Care to call them liars?
LOL! It sounds like she's a paid spokeswoman for whoever will hire her. And she's no Catherine Zeta-Jones, so she probably can't be too picky about her gigs, bless her heart.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.