Frisco Jon On Ohio Sex Ed

Jon Carroll of the EssEff Chron, no doubt in response to Fixer's post, has a few things to say about Ohio and sex education.

Ohio is such a fun place these days. I can't even begin to explain "Coingate," although, if you're curious, google that word and prepare for a quite bizarre and nasty political scandal. Cheating pensioners -- it's such a grand political tradition.

Ohio, it will be remembered, was the state that had those teeny election irregularities that all seemed to favor George Bush. Entirely coincidental, of course, although, looked at in a certain way, the phrase "coup d'etat" might spring to mind.

Anyway, Dr. Scott Frank, who is the head of the public health department at Case Western University, last week issued a report on the state of Ohio's "abstinence only" sex education classes. According to Frank, the classes routinely spread scientific misinformation, perpetuate gay stereotypes and are often not taught by public health professionals.

Prudery is nothing new. I grew up in a time of sexual repression, and I came out OK. There's something to be said for repression as an erotic stimulant, but that's a different column. (Actually, it's not a column at all, at least not one written by me. I'm foolhardy, but I'm not that foolhardy.) But this is not a matter of morals or customs anymore; this is not about spiritual options. Frank specializes in public health; sex education is now, sadly, about disease vectors.

Also, it's about unwanted babies, increased rates of abortion and increased incidence of childhood poverty. These are serious matters, and the idea that eye-rolling Bible-pounders are actively working against contraception just makes steam emerge from under my collar. If we are asking "What would Jesus do?," I'm pretty sure that Jesus would want all children in safe and caring homes, and all 20-year-olds free from serious chronic disease. That's not going to happen, but we could at least give a shout-out to JC and try to help out.

Also: It would be really useful if young people were taught to distinguish between science and faith. Science does not make faith impossible; it just presents evidence about the workings of the natural world, which you can choose to believe is evidence of how God laid it all down. Revel in the complexity of the Lord! Marvel that he gave protean adaptability to viruses, and marvel that he gave humans brains to understand that adaptability. There's this little war right now between humans and viruses, and you want to be on the human side. Am I right? Then buy a damn rubber, just in case. You know?

Or get one for free. You can get free rubbers more easily than you can get free apples.

And, by the way, the Bible does not spend a lot of time worrying about teenage sex. Sacrificing oxen, now -- the Bible really cares about that. Don't be sacrificing an ox without consulting the recognized authority. But as to sex -- trust your local public health professional. Medicine is your friend, even if your insurance company isn't.

I'm glad my teachers in Driver's Ed and Phys Ed weren't as dopey as these "abstinence only" teachers. I probably wouldn't know a damn thing about driving or playing sports. I'd probably have gotten hurt or dead by now.