Pregnancy talk sparks furor in Wallingford-Swarthmore SD
‘Out of control?’ Teens file complaint with school board
NETHER PROVIDENCE » The Wallingford-Swarthmore School District says it will investigate concerns raised by a Strath Haven High School student about a health class presentation given by representatives of an area pregnancy crisis center, allegedly under the guise of sharing information on abstinence.
Rising senior Abigail McElroy told the district’s school board at a meeting in late July that the Amnion Pregnancy Center, of Drexel Hill, offered advice to students she considered to be “biased, harmful and shameful.”
Even though Amnion claims that its talks “empower young people to make healthy decisions about life and relationships,” McElroy said, “That could not be farther from the truth. Instead of empowering us, Amnion tells us that we are out of control.”
To drive home that point, the Wallingford resident cited a portion of the center’s talk that she said dealt with the “steep slope of arousal.”
One aspect of its presentation deals with the “steep slope of arousal.” Using an illustration she said she took from the center’s website, McElroy said students are told that actions such as hugging, holding hands or kissing can metaphorically send them “tumbling off the cliff,” or have sex, leading to sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy and emotional baggage.
“Not only do they negate our autonomy, but they also dehumanize us,” she said.
In addition, the center uses a piece of tape to underscore a message that having sex is “like sticking yourself to someone. And if you don’t get married, you unstick and become less able to form meaningful bonds.”
McElroy said this description “shames students who already had sex, and seeks to scare those who have not into waiting until marriage. Imagine the harm this sentiment can pose to a student who has suffered sexual assault.”
When one sophomore stayed after class to ask questions of the center’s representatives, she was eventually offered a Bible, McElroy claimed.
“Wallingford-Swarthmore should be commended for telling students about contraception while reminding them that abstinence is an option,” she said.
But allowing Amnion to speak to sophomores year after year is improper, McElroy said, especially considering the fact that the (school) administration was notified after her sophomore year that “we support a group’s religious beliefs above our rights to complete information.”
The student urged the district to bar future presentations by the center and to fully evaluate any outside group that seeks to speak to the school’s students in the future.
Amnion did not return a call seeking comment. However, its executive director, Melanie Parks, told Philly. Com that accurate information was conveyed during the presentation and that no Bibles were handed out.
The center’s website states that the organization is a non-profit established in 1983 with the following mission statement: “To encourage women, men, and families to choose life when confronted with unintended pregnancy, to provide hope and healing to those suffering from past abortions, and to encourage adolescents to form healthy relationships by saving sexual intimacy for marriage.”
A website for “Friends of Amnion” celebrates the organization’s school outreach program.
“Amnion services took a giant leap forward with the addition of the RealEd Relationship Education Program. RealEd reaches area youth with a strong message of premarital sexual abstinence and purity. With several well-trained presenters, Amnion is now reaching more than 5,000 students each year,” it explains.
At the conclusion of McElroy’s remarks, the only response came from board President Marylin Huff, who said, “Thank you Ms. McElroy for bringing that to our attention.”
However, Superintendent Lisa Palmer issued a statement last week thanking McElroy for appearing before the board and pledging a review.
“We are grateful to the student who very eloquently outlined her concerns, and we will thoroughly investigate this matter,” the statement reads. “We will reevaluate this program, and as we gather more information we’ll fully communicate about it with our school community.
“Our goal is to present factual and balanced information in our classes that empowers students to make healthy choices. Thanks for your patience as we work through this matter.”
No time frame for the completion of the review was provided.
In the meantime, support for barring Amnion from the district’s schools is receiving attention via an online petition at the Change.Org website. As of Friday, 581 people had signed the petition.
Among other objections, the petition notes that Amnion is a church-based organization, “and the only option it offers for teenagers who become pregnant is that they carry a pregnancy to term.”
“This message ignores the options that students of the Strath Haven community have under the laws of this Commonwealth and the United States.”
Resident Joanne Landau offered this comment: “A public school is no place for religious dogma. I’m appalled that Amnion was allowed to present at SHHS for so long. Who vetted this group anyway?”