Courtesy of the Huffington Post:
Eighty percent of young evangelicals have engaged in premarital sex, according to a new video from the National Association of Evangelicals. and almost a third of evangelicals' unplanned pregnancies end in abortion.
It's time to speak honestly about sex because abstinence campaigns and anti-abortion crusades often aren't resonating in their own pews, evangelical leaders say.
In some instances, that is beginning to happen:
At this month's Q conference in Washington, participants were asked at the end of a session on "reducing abortion" if churches should support the use of contraception among their single 20-somethings. Responding by text message, 64 percent said yes, 36 percent said no.
A "Sexuality and Covenant" conference this week (April 19-21) co-sponsored by Mercer University and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship includes on its agenda the statement that "marital sexual relationships" are not available for many Christians.
In addition to its video, the NAE is preparing to distribute information packets to pastors that include testimonies from birth mothers and adoptees, as well as definitions of almost a dozen "prevention methods" ranging from abstinence to sterilization. ("Sterilization," WTF?)
Sarah Brown, the CEO of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, said the majority of the Q audience probably preferred reducing premarital sex over considering conception. But that may no longer be realistic.
"Isn't it better for unmarried, sexually active young people to use contraception than to not use it, experience a distressing pregnancy and elect abortion?" Brown said. "It's a difficult choice. It's a difficult question, but I think that's what we have to ask ourselves."
Personally I think the Evangelicals are about 50 years too late, but I guess it is only right to give them some positive reinforcement for FINALLY getting with the program.
However I am not willing to give them too much credit just yet (That sterilization comment notwithstanding) because in the video when they list the methods of reducing the abortion rate, the FIRST one is "parental consent," followed by "waiting periods before abortions," then "efforts at making adoption, pre and post natal care more available," until finally listing "easier access to contraceptive information and services," which I think most of us agree should be first on that list.
It seems that the Evangelicals are still of the mindset that every birth is a gift from God and have a VERY hard time recognizing that there are many pregnancies which should be prevented. And that preventing them is far better than demanding that teens tell their parents that they want an abortion, or insisting that they give the baby up for adoption, once God "gifts" them with a fetus.
Like I said, they clearly have a long way to go, but then again every road to recovery begins with admitting that you have a problem. And at least the Evangelicals have now admitted that they have a problem.
"Giving a baby up for adoption" is not as easy as it sounds. There are not enough adopting wanna be parents for all the unwanted pregnancies.
ReplyDeleteNor are there enough legitimate adoption agencies to handle the load.
And there is the truth that most wanna adopt parents want perfect white babies. So what is supposed to happen to the non perfect non white babies?
I am willing to bet that most women have known a girl or woman who was willing to carry to term and put the child up for adoption but who could find no organization to take the child.
So should Craig list have an adoption section, or maybe Google, or would birth control pills and easily accessible early term abortion not make more sense.
You haven't seen the heartbreaking ads on-line and in the newspapers- loving couple with a beautiful home looking for a child to share our love. Our community has a home for pregnant gals who come there for the purpose of giving up their child. They cover their expense by working as local babysitters and doing light housework. Their waiting list is years long. You don't know what you are writing about. The demand exceeds the supply. Fertility clinics are filled with people who would love to open to their hearts and homes to unwanted children. Maybe Alaska doesn't have many choices, but there are many in the lower 48.
DeleteGiving a baby up for adoption is not easy. It usually is the heartbreaking decision made by a woman who cannot afford another child in a crowded family, a teen whose education and life will be forever changed by having to take care of an unplanned baby, or a person who simply cannot afford to have the child and wants it to have a better life.
These are painful decisions, including the one that goes, "I have my career all mapped out, and there are some religious people who have a strong interest in my career. Your unplanned teen pregnancy will be a blot on my record-- unless I can take the kid, pass him off as my own and win those "Right to Life" folks. No? No, Missy, the answer is YES! Try and stop me!"
This is a big deal Gryphen and we should give them a little credit they are finally “going there.” Evangelicals are so conflicted and screwed up when it comes to premarital sex. Poor choices are the usual outcome. A lot of magical thinking is a major part of this group’s modus operandi. So, let’s hope this is a step forward. I think it is time for another post about Frank Shaeffer. I read his first book, but I am so curious about his take on evangelical women and the big hair/pots of makeup look.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't Evangelicals just pass a law that puts the parents of anyone under 18 who gets knocked up in a work factory prison? Whatever their child decides abortion, keep baby or adopt, all expenses would be paid off while the parents toil away. The time parents are incarcerated and working will co-ordinate with expenses. Most Evangelicals need to do some fact checking and they would finally have time for that. Think of the jobs another private prison would bring in. Homes for knocked up teens would also benefit. It is a win win for everyone.
ReplyDeleteMake evangelical parents responsible financially to any children conceived by their under age kids will get them to make sure their children have access to birth control.
DeleteWhile I believe in "safety nets" in our society, I do think that parents of minors that have children should be held inancially accountable.
OT: If you think (as Sarah Palin does) that increased supply will bring down gas prices, you'd be wrong. Stores on the west coast are so full that an Alaskan Tanker had to sail back to it's home port because it couldn't unload it's cargo because all of the storage on the west coast was full:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/23/MN261O78QA.DTL
In fact, crude oil supplies in the US are at historic highs, yet gas still costs $4-5 a gallon.
Good grief. Someone please send the Wasilla Wacko the link.
DeleteTexas is also booming and drilling is at an all time high.
DeleteAnd our prices go from $4.10 back down to $3.75 within hours, and then up again. Tell me that the oil companies have no control over prices? These guys are crooks, and the GOP wants to let them get away with even more profits and federal subsidies AND tax refunds. Shame on the entire industry.
DeleteOMG! Santorum's head will explode if he reads this!
ReplyDeleteHow could we tell the difference?
DeleteDuring the Bush Administration, we had dinner with a friend of ours who works for UNICEF. Her concern is the number of kids born with physical and mental defects, the results of one parent or the other's drug addiction, STD, AIDS, alcoholism. The children are born to poor families with more children than the family can provide for. She said that there was a simple solution, but she was not allowed to say the "C" word. She meant condoms, and is she told these people about contraceptives that would prevent those problems, not only would she lose her job-- the US would withdraw all aid that it gave to the United Nations.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if things have changed during the Obama administration. Aids is a serious problem in Africa, and contraceptives who go a long way to slowing down the spread of this disease-- along with other sexually transmitted diseases. Many rural places around the world have the same problems-- more children than the family can afford to care for, children born with Fetal Alcohol syndrome, drug addiction, AIDS-- all prevented by using contraceptives.
Oh, Evangelicals! Where is your concern for people and their quality of life? What are you trying to do, punish these people-- the way that you punish the victim of rape and/or incest, making her carry that baby.
It defies logic, but they can do anything, and still feel they’re right with God. Do they think they’re fooling God with prayers and righteous words? Some do. But, I think in many cases, they feel they have a special relationship with God that supersedes worldly laws and conventions.
ReplyDeleteIn Game Change, Sarah says, “It’s God’s will.” She knows she’s been an ass and worse, but feels her special relationship with God supersedes all that.
A lot of my information comes from my childhood, but I recently worked with a young woman (honor roll student) who had been brainwashed into thinking the world was 6,000 years old. If some of them are finally stumbling into this century, that’s good.
It does need to be talked about. Starting at about eight years old, in age appropriate language. Everyone knows the drill.
ReplyDeleteThis "talk about sex" to "reduce abortions" stuff is feeble at best. Contraception of all forms, along with the failure rates for each needs to be part of the conversation as well. At home, in schools, at church etc.
Is this sudden reversal in reaction to the "war on women"? Because I can't see Conservatives easily embracing this concept. If it's genuine, I think it'll take years if not generations to catch on.
You have to wonder how many of the 36% that said "no" to supporting contraception, they wanted to say "yes" but were afraid of what their menfolk would do if they found out.
ReplyDelete