The Castlegar Sun Wednesday, June 21, 1995 Page 8B fe In Defense of a Littl + Virginity North American teenagers have important sexual choices to make, What is really their best choice, and why? a message from Focus on the Family The federal government bas spent almost $3 billion of our taxes Since 1970 to promote contraceptives and “safe sex” among our teenagers. Isn’t it time we asked, What bave we gotten for our money? These are the facts: * The federal Centers for Disease Control estimate that there are now | million cases of HIV infection nationwide. ' * Lin 100 students coming to the University of Texas health center now carries the deadly virus. * + The rate of heterosexual HIV transmission has increased 44% since September 1989. * + Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) infect 3 million teenagers annually. * + 63% of all STD cases occur among persons less than 25 years of age, * + 1 million new cases of pelvic inflammatory disease occur annually + 1.3 million new cases of gonorrhea occur annually "; strains of gonorrhea have developed that are resistant to penicillin + Syphilis is at a 40-year high, with 134,000 new infections per year. * + 500,000 new cases of herpes occur annually *; it is estimated that 16.4% of the US. population ages 15-47 is infected, totaling more than 25 million Americans — among certain groups, the infection rate is as high as 60%. + 4 million cases of chlamydia occur annually "; 10-30% of 15-to19-year-olds are infected. + There are now 24 million cases of human papilloma virus (HPV), with a higher prevalence among teens. " To date, over 20 different and dangerous sexually transmitted diseases are rampant among the young. Add to that the problems with p infertility, abortions and infected newborns. The cost of this epidemic is staggering, both in human suffering and in expense to society; yet epidemiologists tell us we've only seen the beginning. Incredibly, the “‘safe-sex” gitrus and condom promoters who got us into this mess are still ing our Why, apart from moral considerations, do you think teenagers should be taught to abstain from sex until marriage? No other approach to the epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases will work. The so-called “safe-sex” solution is a disaster in the making. Condoms can fail at least 15.7 percent of the time annually in preventing pregnancy, '* They fail 36.3 percent of the time annually in preventing pregnancy among young, unmarried minority women In a study of homosexual men, the British Medical Journal reported the failure rate due to slippage and breakage to be 26 percent. Given these findings, it is obvious why we have a word for people who rely on condoms as a means of birth control. We call them...“parents.” Remembering that a woman can conceive only one or two days per month, we can only guess how high the failure rate for condoms must be in preventing disease, which can be transmitted 365 days per year! If the devices are not used properly, or if they slip just once, viruses and bacteria are exchanged and the disease process begins. Once mistake after 500 “protected” episodes is all it takes to contract a sexually transmitted disease ‘The damage is done in a single moment when rational thought is overridden by passion ‘Those who would depend ‘on so insecure a method must use it properly on every occasion, and even then a high failure rate is brought about by factors beyond their control. The young victim who is told by his elders that this little latex device is “safe” may not know he is risking lifelong pain and even death for so brief a window of pleasure. What a burden to place on an immature mind and body! Then we must recognize that there are other differences between pregnancy prevention and disease prevention. HIV is 1/25th the width of sperm, "” and can pass easily through even the smallest gaps in condoms. Researchers studying surgical gloves made out of latex, the same material in condoms, found “channels of 5 microns that penetrated the entire thickness of the glove.” " HIV measures .1 microns. '? Given these findings, what rational, informed person would trust his or her very life to such flimsy armor? This surely explains why not one of 800 sexologists at a conference a few years ago raised a hand when asked if they would trust a thin rubber sheath to protect them during intercourse with a know HIV-infected person. » Who could blame them? They're not crazy, after all. And yet they're perfectly willing to tell our kids that “safe sex” is within reach and that they can sleep around with impunity. There is only one way to protect ourselves from the deadly diseases that lie in wait. It is adolescent sexuality. Their ideas have failed, and its time to rethink their bankrupt policies. How long has it been since you've heard anyone tell teenagers why it is to their advantage to remain virgins until married? The facts are being withheld from them, with tragic consequences. Unless we come to terms with the sickness that stalks a generation of Americans, teen promiscuity will continue, and millions of kids...thinking they are protected... will suffer for the'rest of their lives. Many will die of AIDS. ‘There is only one safe way to remain healthy in the midst of a sexual revolution. It is to abstain from intercourse until marriage, and then wed and be faithful to an uninfected partner. It is a concept that was widely endorsed in society until the 1960s. Since then, a “better idea” has come along...one that now threatens the entire human family Inevitable questions are raised whenever abstinence is proposed. It's time we gave some clear answers Data Sources: 1. Pamels McDonnell, Sexually Transmitted Diseases Division, Centers for Disease Control, U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, bbas AIDS virus,” Austin American Statesman, July 14, 1991, p. Ald: The federally funded study was based on a non-random (Feb. 3, 1992): 35. 4 U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, 1991 Division of STD/HIV Prevention, Annual Report, p. 13. 5. 18, 1992 7. STDMIV Prevention, CDC, p. 13.8. Ibud. 9. Ibxd. 10. Robert E. Johnson etal 1211. STDAMIV Preventon CDC « Jerrad of Media ine 421 July 6, 1489) before marriage, then marriage and mutual fidelity for life to an uninfected partner. Anything less is potentially suicidal. That position is simply NOT realistic today. It’s an unworkable solution: Kids will NOT implement it. Some will. Some won't. It’s still the only answer. But let's talk about an “unworkable solution” of the first order. Since 1970, the federal goverment has spent nearly $3 billion to promote contraception and “safe sex.” This year alone, 450 million of your tax dollars will go down the drain! " (Compared with Jess than $8 million for abstinence programs, which Sen. Teddy Kennedy and company have sought repeatedly to eliminate altogether.) Isn't it time we ask what we've gotten for our money? After 22 years and nearly $3 billion, some 58 percent of teenage girls under 18 still did not use contraception during their first intercourse. * Furthermore, teenagers tend to keep having unprotected intercourse for a full year, on average, before starting any kind of contraception.” That is the success ratio of the experts who call as cited by Sania D. Gortwald et al., “Profile Adole went ObGyn Panents at the Univer Dresses Drvwion, Centers on Disease Conmml, US. Dept of Health & Human Services ot bat YR? Naomal S. 2 Prophy Lact Washington Watch 3 ( Perspective year of legal abornon. 27. 2. 14. Blise F. Jones and Jacqueline Darroch Forrest. \C» June 198%) 167 HS. Poe p. 105. 16. Lode Wigersms and Ron Oud. °S and” Even if we spent another $50 billion to Promote condom usage, most teenagers would still not use them consistently and properly. ‘The nature of human beings and the passion of the act simply do not lend themselves to a disciplined response in young romantics. But if you knew a teenager was going to have intercourse, wouldn’t you teach him or her about proper condom usage? No, because that approach has an unintended consequence. The process of recommending condom usage to teenagers inevitably conveys five dangerous ideas: (1) that “safe se: achievable; (2) that everybody is doing it; (3).that responsible adults expect them to do it; (4) that it's a good thing; and (5) that their peers know they know these things, breeding promiscuity. Those are very destructive messages to give our kids. Furthermore, Planned Parenthood’s own data show that the number one reason teenagers engage in intercourse is peer pressure! * Therefore, anything we do to imply that “everybody is doing it” results in more...not fewer...people who give the game a try. Condom distribution programs do not reduce the number of kids exposed to disease...they radically increase it! Want proof of that fact? Since the federal government began its major contraception program in 1970, unwed pregnancies have increased 87 percent among 15-to 19- year-olds. * Likewise abortions among teens rose 67 percent; * unwed births went up 61 percent. ”* And venereal disease has infected a generation Of young people. Nice job, sex counselors, Good thinking. senators and congressmen. Nice nap, America. Having made a blunder that now threatens the human family, one would think the designers would be backtracking and A few years ago in Lexington, Ky., a youth event was held that featured no sports contest, no rock groups — just an ex-convict named Harold Morris talking about abstinence, among other subjects. ‘The coliseum seated 18,000 people, but 26,000 teenagers showed up! Eventually, more than 2,000 stood outside the packed auditorium and listened over a hastily prepared public address system. Who says kids won't listen to this time-honored message? Even teens who have been sexually active can choose to stop. this is often “secon virginity,” a good concept that conveys the idea that kids can start over. One young girl recently wrote Ann Landers to say she wished she had kept her virginity, signing the letter, “Sorry I didn’t and wish I could take it back.” As responsible adults we need to tell her that even though she can't go back, she can go forward. She can regain her self-respect and protect her health, because it's never to late to start saying “no” to premarital sex. Even though the safe-sex advocates predominate in educational circles, are there no positive examples of abstinence- based programs for kids? Thankfully, some excellent programs have been developed. Spokane-based Teen-Aid o's Southwest Parents Commitiee are good examples. So are Next Generation in Maryland. Choices in California and Respect Inc in Ulinois. Other curricula such as Facing Reality; Sex Respect; Me. My World. My Future: Reasonable Reasons to Wait; Sex. Love & Choices; FACTS. etc., are all abstinence-themed programs to help kids make good sexual decisions. A good curriculum for inner-city youth is Elayne Bennett's Best Friends Program. This for their Instead, they continue to lobby Congress and corporate America-for more money, Given the misinformation extant on this subject, they'll probably get it. But if you were a parent and knew that your son or daughter was having sex, wouldn’t you rather he or she used a condom? How much risk is acceptable when you're talking about your teenager's life? One study of married couples in which one partner was infected with HIV found that 17% of the partners using condoms for protection still caught the virus within a year and a half. * Telling our teens to “reduce the risk” to one in six (17%) is not much better than advocating Russian roulette. Both are fatal, eventually. The difference is that with a gun, death is quicker. Suppose your son or daughter were joining an 18-month skydiving club of six members. If you knew that one of their parachutes would definitely fail, would you recommend that they simply buckle the chutes tighter? Certainly not. You would say, “Please don’t jump. You life is at stake!" How could a loving parent do less? Kids won’t listen to the abstinence message. You're just wasting your breath to try to sell them a notion like that. It is a popular myth that teenagers are incapable of understanding that it is in their best interest to save themselves until marriage. Almost 65 percent of all high school females under 18 are virgins. * project helps adolescents in Washington, D.C. graduate from high school and remain abstinent. In five years, not one female has become pregnant while in the Best Friends Program! E and i ideas with kids, however, can be like spitting into the wind. Not because they won't listen, because most will. But pro-abstinence messages are drowned out in a sea of toxic 4 propaganda from “safe sex” professionals. You place major responsibility on those who have told adolescents that sexual expression is their right as long as they do it “properly.” Who else has contributed to the epidemic? The entertainment industry must certainly share the blame, including television producers. It is interesting in this context that all four networks and the cable television entities are wringing their hands about this terrible epidemic of AIDS. They profess to be very concemed about » those who are infected with sexually transmitted diseases, and perhaps they are sincere. « However, TV executives and movie moguls have contributed mightily to the existence of this plague. For decades, they have depicted teens and young adults climbing in and out of each other's beds like * so many sexual robots. Only the nerds were shown to be chaste, and they were too stupid or ugly to find partners. Of course, the beautiful young actors in those steamy dramas never faced any consequences for their sexual indulgence. No one ever came down with herpes, or syphilis, or chlamydia. or pelvic inflammatory disease, March 16, 1992 2. Seow W. Wright, “I in 100 tested at UT sample. 3. “Heterosexual HIV Transmission up in the United States,” American Medical News Tid. 6. McDonnell, CDC, HHS, t.i., March A Seroepidemiologic Survey of the Prevalence of Herpes Simple Virus Type 2 Infection in the United States,” New England ents?” Clinucal Practice Sexuality 5 (1989): 19-25 1991), 23. 18. Kay Stone, Sexually Transmitted Jy Mev al Journal 295 (uly 11, 1987): 94. 17. Marcia F. Gold, et al., “Latex Gloves Not Enough to Exclude Vir made ot the National Conference on HIV, Washinyivn m D. Mosher and James W. MeNally, “Contraceptive Use at First Premar 1992, based on data from Planned Parenthood's Als c Failure in the United States: Re vised Estimate 5 (Sept. 1, 1988): 19. 19. Nancy E. Diruhbo, D.C, Nov, 15-18, 1991, 21. “Condom Roulette Inercourse: United Stes, 1965-1988," Family Planning 111. 23. Cheryl D. Hayes. ed., Risking the Future: Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy and Childbearing (Washington: National Acatkmy Press. 1987) pp. 46-49. 24, Planned Parenthood pull ‘American Teens Speak Sex. Myths, TV and Birth Control,” (New York Louts Harn» & Associates, Inc., 1986), p. 24. 28. “Condom Roulette,” In Focus 25 (Washington: Family Research Council, Feb. 1992), p. 2 Gilbert L. Crouse, Office of Planrung and Evaluation, U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services. 1. March 12, US, Congress, House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Health and the Environment, The Reauthorization of Title X Charmaine Yoest), 102nd Congress, 2nd session, March 19, 1991, p. 2. 28. Margaret A. Fischl et a macher Institute, Increase calculated from 1973. first the Public Health Service Act, (testimony submitted hy Heterosexual Transmission of Human Immunodeficienc) Virus (HIV): Relationship of Sexual Practises to Seroconversion.” HI International Conference on AIDS, June |-5, 1987. Abstracts Volume, p. 178. 29. US. Dept. of Health & Human Services, National Centers for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control, “Percent of Worthen 15-19 Years of Age Who Are Sexually Experienced, by Race, Age and Marital Status: United States, 1988,” National Survey of Family Growth 30. Joseph S. Mclhaney. Jr.. M.D.. Sexuality and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, (Grand Rapids, Baker Publ.. 1990) p. 137. 31. A.M.B. Goldstein and Susan M. Garsbediun-Ruffalo, “A Treatment Update to Resistant Gonorthes,” Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality; (August 1991): 39. or infertility, or AIDS, or genital warts, or cervical cancer. No patients were ever told by 4 physician that there was no cure for their disease or that they would have to deal with the pain for the rest of their lives. No ‘one ever heard that genital cancers associated with the human papilloma virus (HPV) kill more women than AIDS, * or that strains of gonorrhea are now resistant to penicillin. * No, there was no downside. It all looked like so much fun. But what a price we are paying now for the lies we have been told. ent has also contributed City of New York is entitled, “Teens Have the Right,” and is apparently intended to free adolescents from adult authority. Inside are the six declarations that make up a “Teenager’s Bill of Rights,” as follows: + Thave the right to think for myself. + [have the right to decide whether to have sex and who(m) to have it with. + have the right to use protection when I have sex. + Thave the right to buy and use condoms. + IT have the right to express myself. + Thave the right to ask for help if I need it. Under this final item (the right to ask for help) is a list of organizations and phone numbers that readers are encouraged to call The philosophy that govems several of the reflects the agenda, which includes recruitment of the young and vigorous promotion of a teen’s right to sexual expression. Your tax dollars at work! Surely there are other Americans.who the danger now a generation‘of our best and brightest. It is time to speak up for an old-fashioned value called virginity. Now, more than ever, virtue is a necessity If you agree with Focus on the Family that it is time for a new approach to adolescent sexuality, tear out out this ad and save it. Take it to your next school board meeting. Send it to your congressman or senator. Distribute copies to the PTA. And by all means, share it with your teenagers. Begin to promote abstinence before marriage as the only healthy way to survive this worldwide epidemic. Please use the address below to obtain a valuable booklet on abstinence. There is no charge for it. However, your support is requested for an upcoming TV program for teenagers on this important topic. You comments are also solicited. © Copyright 1992, Focus on the Family Focus on the Family, P.O.Box 9800, Stn. Terminal, Vancouver, B.C. V6B 4G3. Wednesday, June 21, 1995 The Castlegar Sun Looking for work? Or a job? There’s a big difference Are you looking for work? Or, are you look- ing for a job? Most unemployed peo- ple or those unhappy in their positions are looking for a job. In fact, they are encouraged to do so by reading ‘job’ boards, looking in catalogues for the ‘jobs’ and ‘job titles’ They complain there are no ‘jobs’ — and, they're right There's lots of work, but few jobs. Webster's New World Dictionary defines work as “the physical or mental effort exerted to do or make something.” The key word is effort. A job is a ‘position of employment’. In today’s economy smart business people are looking for employees who can put a little effort behind their brains and brawn to do or make something. They are looking for people who know how to work and therefore generate wealth. They can’t afford peo- ple who want a job, who want to occupy positions or desks and be guaranteed a chair for life. Think about it. Businesses are downsizing and the first people to go are those not directly creating wealth for the organization. If industry is removing these people, why do schools, colleges and training programs continue to teach people to look for ‘jobs’ instead of providing training to create the skills and characteristics needed to generate wealth? Perhaps educators don’t know what skills and characteristics people have or need that can generate wealth. Here are a few. Honesty, intelligence and the ability to set goals are starters. Accepting responsibility, making a commitment and the ability to be sensitive to others are also important. So is being punctual, a self- starter (someone who doesn't hang around waiting to be told what to do) and the ability to be enthusiastic about whatever the task is. A wealth generator can remain focussed. They are disciplined and have a positive mental attitude. Wealth generators are the extra-milers, the ones who go a step or more beyond. They take their life and work experiences and learn from them. They are persistent and they take pride in what they do. Wealth generators are impact-players; they are more productive and their value to the company goes up. They are dependable, energetic and have a good self image. Wealth generators will always work. Even if their company goes under, they are the ones sought out by others. And if they can’t find someone for whom they can generate wealth, they'll do it for them- selves. :: Next time you are considering hiring or replacing a staff member don’t talk about jobs, responsibility, tasks and the like. Ask the peo= ple you are interviewing how they propose to generate wealth for your company. If you get a blank stare, keep looking. COMMUNITY BUSINESS MARILYN STRONG The big cut—Russell Leamy, (centre) Chair- man of the Board of Castlegar Savings Credit Union, cuts the ribbon held by Charlie Cohoe (I), of Cohoe Insurance, and Lorne Myhra, General Manag- er of Castlegar Savings Credit Union. The cere- mony was the highlight event during the Cohoe Insurance official re- opening, held Thurs- day. Cohoe Insurance was purchased by Castlegar Savings earli- er this spring. LOOK TO THE SUN FOR ALL YOUR NEEDS. 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