Christian sex-ed
Debate needed on inclusion in public schools
Simons: Classrooms become spiritual battlefields.
The Edmonton Pregnancy Care Centre describes itself as a Christian mission working on Edmonton’s “front lines.”
“Directed by Christ, we trust Him to accomplish His work through us,” reads its website. “In this spiritual battle, we must be armed; covered in prayer, ready, faithful, and skilful.”
The centre is part of Care Net, a Virginia-based prolife movement. In 2006, a U.S. Congressional investigation found Care Net provided women with alarmist, inaccurate information about abortion’s risks.
In Edmonton, the centre counsels women considering abortion. But since 2006, it has also taught sexual abstinence programs in our public schools. Only this fall did some parents start an online petition in protest.
The centre’s executive director Norah Kennedy says her group taught in 60 Edmonton-area junior high and high schools last year; 90 to 95 per cent, she says, were in the Edmonton Public School District. Kennedy says presenters discuss emotional and physical risks of teenage sex, and relationship choices in our hypersexualized culture.
The Care Centre emphasizes the risks and failure rates of birth-control methods and teaches abstinence until marriage as the best way to prevent sexually transmitted infections or pregnancy. One image in their presentation, Wait! Let’s Talk Sex, features a happy bridal couple who waited to have sex. A more ominous image shows condoms draped over razorwire.
“We are brought in to speak from an abstinence-based perspective; which differs from abstinence-only presentation,” she explains. “We present abstinence as the best and safest choice while also giving them a comprehensive overview of all of their options.”
There is, stresses Ken- nedy, no direct mention of Christianity.
“The fact that the PCC was founded upon faith principles is irrelevant. The only thing of relevance is the information we present, which is both unbiased and applicable to students — regardless of their personal belief or sexual orientation.”
As long as presentations don’t explicitly mention Christianity, Edmonton Public board chair Sarah Hoffman sees no problem.
“We have a legal responsibility to teach abstinence,” she says.
Indeed, Alberta Education requires schools to include discussion of abstinence as an option. EPSB policy, though, goes further. Its teachers must “promote … the view that abstinence from sexual relationships is the most effective method of preventing sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies.”
But how effective is vowing abstinence?
Dozens of American studies demonstrate school districts that stress abstinence education have higher rates of teen pregnancy and STIs. Students who receive abstinence-only education actually start having sex at a younger age than those who get more comprehensive sex education. Research shows teens make wiser decisions when they’re prepared for safe sex — and when they haven’t made idealistic plans to abstain until marriage.
It doesn’t matter that PCC presenters avoid explicit mention of their faith in the classroom, or in the promotional materials sent out to schools. Its curriculum is built on specific church doctrine. If Christian parents want Christian values education for their children, they have many options, even within Edmonton Public. But public schools which serve our diverse community have no business foisting one particular set of religious values on everyone — especially when provincial guidelines state presentations “limited to a singular or narrow view” shouldn’t be part of sex-ed programs.
The district says it’s up to individual schools to choose their guest speakers.
Yet while almost 60 Edmonton Public Schools hosted the Pregnancy Care Centre last year, the pro-choice organization formerly known as Planned Parenthood, now called Options, was invited to just 18. That suggests students aren’t hearing balanced perspectives.
“We do talk about abstinence as one option,” says Options’ executive director Toby Rabinovitz. “But students also hear that this is your choice to make, whatever your culture. They can only make intelligent decisions if they have all the options in front of them. We need to have this conversation with kids in a very safe, respectful manner. They’re so vulnerable. They’re just exploring their own sexuality. If they ask questions, they need answers that aren’t based on a faith approach.”
Absolutely, we need sensitive abstinence education in schools. But students have the right to understand the Pregnancy Care Centre’s complete political and religious background — and to hear guest speakers with alternate points of view.
Spurred by the online protest, Hoffman says the district will create a more specific permission letter, so families can opt out of Pregnancy Care Centre classes. That’s a start. Now, as we prepare to vote for our next school trustees, we need a public debate about whether it’s appropriate for Christian missionaries to turn our classrooms into their spiritual battlefields.