SIGN THE PETITION
Opened on November 10, 2011

For Monroe County, New York
Links to read Related to this Petition:
Parents Push back and say NO! …… My kids, My values
NY Schools: Pimping our kids out to rapist and child molesters?

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Official Position Regarding the Initiative on the Part of the RCSD to Distribute Condoms Through School-based Health Clinics to 7th – 12th grades in 11 Rochester City School District Schools.

As service providers in the City of Rochester, we are dedicated to the care and nurture of our youth by guidance, education, and instruction in healthy directions consistent with our belief that they are human beings uniquely designed by God with inherent dignity and purpose.

With respect to the proposal to distribute condoms to 7th_12th grade students in 11 RCSD High schools, We agree that as a community there needs to be a vigorous response to the growing STD crisis, we, however, disagree with the proposed strategy. We believe the distribution of condoms will result in three unfavorable outcomes:

A Conflicting Message

• Increased confusion on the part of our youth. What are we as educators advocating? Are we telling them “No” to sex, or “Yes” to sex? Is it not hypocritical to distribute condoms – specifically designed for the sole purpose of sexual activity – and encourage their use while simultaneously discouraging sexual activity?

• The NEA clearly states in their Code of Ethics that educators “[should believe] in the worth and dignity of all human beings and [recognize] the supreme importance of the pursuit of truth and devotion to excellence.” Consistent with that, we believe that the role of an educator is paramount to influencing our future generations at this point in history. 1 Students are dependent upon educators for solid guidance

• Consistent with the NEA’s commitment “to protect the student from conditions harmful to learning or to health and safety,”2 we strongly advocate the educator’s role in encouraging students to avoid behavior that would lead to potential life-threatening harm. As condoms do not provide 100% protection for our youth, distributing condoms is, in fact, encouraging our students toward unsafe behavior.

The Center for Disease Control states, “The surest way to avoid transmission of an STD is to abstain from sexual contact, or to be in a long-term, mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and is known to be uninfected.”3

Sex Education should be targeted towards educating our students toward helpful methods of avoiding harmful behavior. Is it, therefore, responsible for educators to advocate an activity that is not 100% foolproof?

Despite Their Availability, Condoms are Not Used

• Students surveyed at local urban pregnancy centers in the city of Rochester, cite similar statistics, revealing that as much as 70 – 95% of clients do not use condoms during sexual activity, regardless of the easy accessibility of condoms.

• The neurobiology of adolescent brains reveals that the frontal cortex is still in development and unable to make consistently wise decisions “to control action based on emotional input.”4 Teens are prone toward risk-taking and carefree in regard to their sexual health and condom usage.

Emotional Fall-out from Early Onset of Sexual Activity

If used properly, condoms do provide some physical protection. They cannot, however, protect one from the emotional damage done by the early onset of sexual activity.

• 88% of our (Place of Hope) female clients regretted their decision to become sexually active and wish they had waited for a life partner.

The premise that sex is okay with appropriate physical protection ignores the rise in statistics indicating an increase in teen depression and suicide.5 Sexually active teen girls are 3 times more likely ( than sex. abstinent girls) to report depression and have attempted suicide. Teen boys are twice as likely to suffer from depression and 7 times more likely to attempt suicide (than sex. abstinent boys) .6

To be sexually active as a teen is costly:

• Increased risk of STDs, including HIV/AIDS

• Increased risk of unplanned pregnancies

• Increased risk of emotional and spiritual depression

Thanks to the safe-sex message, we have garnered substantially higher levels of unplanned pregnancies, abortions, depression, epidemic STD rates, and unhealthy relationships among our young people. Data proves safe-sex to be a misnomer and a disingenuous message to our young people. As educators and mentors, we can protect our students from the crisis of rapidly increasing STD transmissions with healthy, holistic alternatives.

Educators/mentors need to guide our students away from activities and behaviors that are unhealthy and lead them toward the principles of valuing one’s self-worth and of cultivating healthy relationships

Can we pin our hopes on a condom?

It is reported that a condom may not protect against Chlamydia, Herpes, HPV, and Syphilis. These STDs are either incurable, can cause infertility, and/or can be spread to a baby in the womb.

Are you willing to allow our kids to “test the odds”?

We propose that alternatives that have been proven to significantly decrease the rate of STDs and unplanned pregnancy be explored before reaching for a condom. Some examples:

• In 2010, an urban study on Efficacy of a Theory-Based Abstinence-Only Intervention Study by: John S. Jemmott proves abstinence –only program most effective.

• In the 1980’s and 1990’s, Uganda launched an aggressive media campaign, in addition to a community-wide prevention message, to promote abstinence and monogamy and achieved a reduction in HIV infections from 21% to 6%.

• American College of Pediatrics(CPED.org) strongly endorses abstinence-only.

We stand in support of any measures that lead to the health and well-being of our youth and endorse a strategy that does not compromise or hinder the God-given capacity of our students to grow with integrity of mind, body and soul in spirit, into productive human beings in our society.

We the undersigned agree with the content of this document.