ACLU threatens abstinence program

[Riprorin]

ACLU threatens abstinence program
Group up in arms because state website includes mention of God

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: November 19, 2004
1:00 a.m. Eastern


© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

The American Civil Liberties Union has threatened to sue the state of Louisiana because a state website promoting abstinence mentions God.

In a six-page letter, the ACLU claims the state abstinence program has violated a 2002 court settlement by invoking the name of God and quoting biblical passages on the program's taxpayer-funded website, reported the New Orleans Times-Picayune.


The legal group says it will take the Governor's Program on Abstinence back to federal court in 30 days if religious references are not removed from the site. Even so, the site, AbstinenceEdu.com, continues to mention God, with one personal testimony from a girl who said she thanked God after she chose not to have sex.

"We've been monitoring the website for a while," Joe Cook, the executive director of the Louisiana ACLU, told the New Orleans paper. "We thoroughly researched it, and we made the determination that the GPA had not only failed to correct the errors of its ways, as pointed out two years ago in the settlement, but in fact had gone out of its way to use taxpayer money to layer religious content upon religious content."

A spokesperson for Gov. Kathleen Blanco's office, Roderick Hawkins, said the website was being reviewed.

"Our concern is that the site comply with the agreement and the settlement of 2002," Hawkins told the paper. "That's what we're doing right now ? making sure the site complies."

On the site's message board, one teenager poster mentioned God in her testimony:

"Virginity is something very special which we have been given by God and we can only have it once. When you give it to someone It'll be gone and you can never get it back no matter how rich you are. I'm so thankful to God for being with me and giving me the wise choice ? to abstain. I'm 15 and so proud to be a virgin and I won't be sorry for that. I think one day my future husband'll be very happy for the decision which I made and he'll respect, trust me and feel secure with me."

AbstinenceEdu.com and the governor's program is financed with federal money.


I scanned the website quickly and couldn't find any reference to God.

Link

Seems like an over reaction to a state program aimed at reducing teenage pregnancy and STDs.

 

[conjur]

"We've been monitoring the website for a while," Joe Cook, the executive director of the Louisiana ACLU, told the New Orleans paper. "We thoroughly researched it, and we made the determination that the GPA had not only failed to correct the errors of its ways, as pointed out two years ago in the settlement, but in fact had gone out of its way to use taxpayer money to layer religious content upon religious content."

Seems like a blatant disregard for the settlement on the part of the site.

As for your failure to find God (heh heh), you didn't look very hard:

11/04/2004 - Silver rings signify teens' abstinence
The program is attractive to teens because it doesn't tell them that sex is bad. On the contrary, says 16-year-old Jordan Treadaway, the skits and speakers let the teens know that sex "is one of God's best gifts." So good, in fact, that it should be saved for just the right moment, and just the right person.

Seriously, Rip.

How about you stop worrying about what others should believe and Keep Your Religion Out of Our Government?

Go read some science fiction for a while. It would contain a helluva lot more truth than the crap websites you've been posting up here.

 

[rickn]

abstinence is a very unrealistic ideal. It simply does not work. they'd be better off promoting anal sex as an alternative. Alteast that way you don't have to worry about unwanted pregnancy

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

Abstinence only as a method of teaching isn't effective.

The practice itself works 100% effectively.

Working the practice doesn't happen 100%.

 

[AFB]

Originally posted by: rickn
abstinence is a very unrealistic ideal. It simply does not work. they'd be better off promoting anal sex as an alternative. Alteast that way you don't have to worry about unwanted pregnancy

I like it :thumbsup:

 

[conjur]

More from that abstinencedu.com site:

Yes, when our oldest son turned 13 we had previously spoken with him about staying pure till marriage and allowed him to pick out what he wanted. It had to be something he kept on at all times.(most of the time) He chose a gold necklace. We took him to a special restaurant that birthday and made a contract between us and him and him and God and had him sign it. Our second son will soon be 13 and we will do the same. As of today, he has chosen a nice watch.
- Dana

Yes, When each of our three children entered sixth grade we took them on an overnight trip of their choice (first son-Professional football game;second son-horsebackriding ; daughter-shopping and iceskating)We listened to a series of tapes by Dr. James Dobson on "Preparing for Adolescence". When they turned 16 we again took them off for an overnight trip of their choice (NBA basketball game; Rockclimbing; shopping *by far the most expensive choice!)On this trip we discussed any questions they had about sex, love and relationships, shared any info on these subjects we thought they might need to know or be reminded of and then prayed over them scriptures that spoke life and truth about them and their future. We then presented them with a special gift. The boys recieved a key chain we had especially made. It was a circle that had been cut in half. The half we gave to them had their intials engraved on one side and these words on the other: Numbers 15:39-40..."and then you will remember..." The other half we saved to put their future spouse's initials on and it had on the back Genesis 3:24. For our daughter we had a heart necklace made with a small piece cut out which we will put on a disc for a key chain for her future spouse to recieve on their wedding day. Her heart has her initials on the front and the same scripture on the back. Our oldest son married two years ago and it was so wonderful to present his wife with the "other half" of his symbol of committment to purity he made to God, us and her when he was 16. We believe our prayers, effort, time and symbols we used to encourage our children to remain chaste has been helpful in counteracting the immoral influences they have been bombarded with. We are trusting God to honor our efforts and their commitments and we will have two more weddings to attend that will be joyful, guilt-free and testimonies of their commitments to purity!
- Denise

Have you used a faith-based curriculum that the students liked?

[...]
Hi! Iam a Catholic Catechism Religion teacher I teach 8th grade students, I feel this program is awesome but for one to practice abstinence one must know the to be able to do so is from the one POWER and that is GOD so without being able to mention God in your program because the no prayers in public schools how will these kids know that they must turn to God to help them? He is the all powerful and when I speak on Abstinence to my students it's God who is the one I tell them that they can turn to. I as a married person practice Natural Family Planning and at times I must practice Abstinence and I turn to the Lord. He is the one who has the POWER to help my spouse and me with NFP. I think this is an awesome project but I hope GOD can be mentioned because without Him in the lives of these kids it will be very hard to pravtice Abstinence and I hope and pray that God's name will be able to be brought into this program. I wish the best for this program and that God guide you to help these kids. God Bless.
- Christine

[...]

I think that a faith based curriculum would be an awesome thing for kids of all ages. Although it is difficult to preach in school, it is important, however, to teach kids real values about life.
- Chris evans

 

[magomago]

why not teach absitnence without the god mention? both sides can be happy

 

[namike]

I forgot absitnence is just for christian's right. Well, there goes that idea.

Absitnence = stops abortion, saves money, saves lives, stops STD's, stops AIDS, stops harrasment, stops alot of other bad thigns.

I ran accross this website a while back. It a website dedicated to African Americans in Jacksonville, FL.

http://www.blacksonville.com/Aidsawareness.htm

FACT: Three area zip codes (32206, 08, and 09 ) most populated by African-Americans on the Northside of Jacksonville predominate the cumulative HIV and AIDS cases in the counties top ten zip codes

* More than 78% of ALL HIV CASES in Duval are of African descent compared to 60% of those in Florida.
* 58% of area AIDS cases are Black, compared to 46% of those in Florida.
* Males make up a frightening 83% of all AIDS cases in the U.S., 78% in Florida. Other "suspective" facts among Black Men... among HIV positive gay men, blacks make up 50% as of 1999.
* In case rate per 100,000 pop., Florida is second behind New York.
* 1 in 50 African-Americans in Florida has AIDS

Something is going to have to get this under control. No medicine or prescription is out to stop it. Lots of cytokine research continues to help develop answers to stop HIV from binding to T-cell receptors, but nothign works......

I'm no M.D., but i can prescribe Abstinence, and i gurantee you it will stop AIDS via sexual transaction. HIV/AIDS cases casued by blood transfusions are exponentially smaller than sexual transmitted cases.

Interesting thing to think about. Especially if your a Black Floridians, worth taking the chance??? Anyone is rolling the dice with your LIFE. Think about it.

So no one in their right mind can in no way shape or form criticize absitence, so what if it mentions "GOD" it works.....i guess if whether something has the word "GOD" on it, makes it bad for Americans now-a-days.

Where will this country be in 20 years.

 

[Riprorin]

Originally posted by: namike
I forgot absitnence is just for christian's right. Well, there goes that idea.

Absitnence = stops abortion, saves money, saves lives, stops STD's, stops AIDS, stops harrasment, stops alot of other bad thigns.

I ran accross this website a while back. It a website dedicated to African Americans in Jacksonville, FL.

http://www.blacksonville.com/Aidsawareness.htm

FACT: Three area zip codes (32206, 08, and 09 ) most populated by African-Americans on the Northside of Jacksonville predominate the cumulative HIV and AIDS cases in the counties top ten zip codes

* More than 78% of ALL HIV CASES in Duval are of African descent compared to 60% of those in Florida.
* 58% of area AIDS cases are Black, compared to 46% of those in Florida.
* Males make up a frightening 83% of all AIDS cases in the U.S., 78% in Florida. Other "suspective" facts among Black Men... among HIV positive gay men, blacks make up 50% as of 1999.
* In case rate per 100,000 pop., Florida is second behind New York.
* 1 in 50 African-Americans in Florida has AIDS

Something is going to have to get this under control. No medicine or prescription is out to stop it. Lots of cytokine research continues to help develop answers to stop HIV from binding to T-cell receptors, but nothign works......

I'm no M.D., but i can prescribe Abstinence, and i gurantee you it will stop AIDS via sexual transaction. HIV/AIDS cases casued by blood transfusions are exponentially smaller than sexual transmitted cases.

Interesting thing to think about. Especially if your a Black Floridians, worth taking the chance??? Anyone is rolling the dice with your LIFE. Think about it.

So no one in their right mind can in no way shape or form criticize absitence, so what if it mentions "GOD" it works.....i guess if whether something has the word "GOD" on it, makes it bad for Americans now-a-days.

Where will this country be in 20 years.

According to the ACLU, the mention of God on a website is more dangerous to society that than the 40 million or so abortions in the US since 1973, the millions who have died from AIDS, and the millions who have contracted STDs.

 

[namike]

Yep.

 

[Infohawk]

Originally posted by: rickn
abstinence is a very unrealistic ideal. It simply does not work. they'd be better off promoting anal sex as an alternative. Alteast that way you don't have to worry about unwanted pregnancy

 

[DragonMasterAlex]

Yeah, you know there are a lot of LEGITIMATE Civil Rights issues out there that the ACLU could be suing over, but instead they waste time and money on these IDIOTIC crusades against county seals with crosses and websites that mention "God".

Absolutely pathetic.

Jason

 

[Red Dawn]

Keeping the Fundies on the defensive keeps them from going on the offensive.

 

[DragonMasterAlex]

when our oldest son turned 13 we had previously spoken with him about staying pure till marriage and allowed him to pick out what he wanted. It had to be something he kept on at all times.(most of the time) He chose a gold necklace. We took him to a special restaurant that birthday and made a contract between us and him and him and God and had him sign it. Our second son will soon be 13 and we will do the same. As of today, he has chosen a nice watch.

Wow, so you're supposed to choose a *trinket* over some hot little honey's tight ass and bodacious ta-ta's?

My god we are living in an age with some *seriously* effeminate boys

Jason

 

[BBond]

Some people consider the ideal to raise children through the teachings of the Bible and watch them fulfill a wholesome life. That's a very lofty goal and I hope it works out for them. But my problem is, it's being coupled with a strong religious component.

In a six-page letter, the ACLU claims the state abstinence program has violated a 2002 court settlement by invoking the name of God and quoting biblical passages on the program's taxpayer-funded website, reported the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

The courts rule in America. Not organized religion ( thank God ).

Keeping government and religion completely separate is the only fail safe method that guarantees true freedom of religion. People who use public funds to proselytize are breaking the law. The ACLU will make them stop.

Thank you, ACLU.

We don't need your idea of religion. We all have our own.

"When the government puts its imprimatur on a particular religion it conveys a message of exclusion to all those who do not adhere to the favored beliefs. A government cannot be premised on the belief that all persons are created equal when it asserts that God prefers some." Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun in the Lee v. Weisman ruling, 1992.

 

[DragonMasterAlex]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Keeping the Fundies on the defensive keeps them from going on the offensive.

Generally speaking I agree, but as I said, there are more important cases. This kind of crap is small-time fluff and it *doesn't* keep these guys on the defensive, it rankles them and then they make a wild-eyed charge, swords raised, right into the rest of us.

Seriously, the most persecuted religious minotiry in America is Atheists, and I, for one of them, don't want any more of their fundamentalist ire pointed my way

Jason

 

[DragonMasterAlex]

Originally posted by: BBond
Some people consider the ideal to raise children through the teachings of the Bible and watch them fulfill a wholesome life. That's a very lofty goal and I hope it works out for them. But my problem is, it's being coupled with a strong religious component.

In a six-page letter, the ACLU claims the state abstinence program has violated a 2002 court settlement by invoking the name of God and quoting biblical passages on the program's taxpayer-funded website, reported the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

The courts rule in America. Not organized religion ( thank God ).

Keeping government and religion completely separate is the only fail safe method that guarantees true freedom of religion. People who use public funds to proselytize are breaking the law. The ACLU will make them stop.

Thank you, ACLU.

We don't need your idea of religion. We all have our own.

"When the government puts its imprimatur on a particular religion it conveys a message of exclusion to all those who do not adhere to the favored beliefs. A government cannot be premised on the belief that all persons are created equal when it asserts that God prefers some." Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun in the Lee v. Weisman ruling, 1992.

While in this scenario I agree with you 99%, I might point out that an overt assault *against* people's right to religious banter, *especially* in petty cases like these, serves no purpose other than to piss them off. Moreover, being too staunch *against* religious expression is tantamount to the government taking a "religious" preferential status toward Atheism--which is also unconstitutional under the same rule that prohibits you from using the government to promote your religion.

Jason

 

[nutxo]

Originally posted by: conjur

"We've been monitoring the website for a while," Joe Cook, the executive director of the Louisiana ACLU, told the New Orleans paper. "We thoroughly researched it, and we made the determination that the GPA had not only failed to correct the errors of its ways, as pointed out two years ago in the settlement, but in fact had gone out of its way to use taxpayer money to layer religious content upon religious content."

Seems like a blatant disregard for the settlement on the part of the site.

As for your failure to find God (heh heh), you didn't look very hard:

11/04/2004 - Silver rings signify teens' abstinence
The program is attractive to teens because it doesn't tell them that sex is bad. On the contrary, says 16-year-old Jordan Treadaway, the skits and speakers let the teens know that sex "is one of God's best gifts." So good, in fact, that it should be saved for just the right moment, and just the right person.

Seriously, Rip.

How about you stop worrying about what others should believe and Keep Your Religion Out of Our Government?

Go read some science fiction for a while. It would contain a helluva lot more truth than the crap websites you've been posting up here.

Is god mentioned in the declaration of independance or the constitution?

 

[Riprorin]

Originally posted by: nutxo

Originally posted by: conjur

"We've been monitoring the website for a while," Joe Cook, the executive director of the Louisiana ACLU, told the New Orleans paper. "We thoroughly researched it, and we made the determination that the GPA had not only failed to correct the errors of its ways, as pointed out two years ago in the settlement, but in fact had gone out of its way to use taxpayer money to layer religious content upon religious content."

Seems like a blatant disregard for the settlement on the part of the site.

As for your failure to find God (heh heh), you didn't look very hard:

11/04/2004 - Silver rings signify teens' abstinence
The program is attractive to teens because it doesn't tell them that sex is bad. On the contrary, says 16-year-old Jordan Treadaway, the skits and speakers let the teens know that sex "is one of God's best gifts." So good, in fact, that it should be saved for just the right moment, and just the right person.

Seriously, Rip.

How about you stop worrying about what others should believe and Keep Your Religion Out of Our Government?

Go read some science fiction for a while. It would contain a helluva lot more truth than the crap websites you've been posting up here.

Is god mentioned in the declaration of independance or the constitution?

I like the quote of Democrat Harry S. Truman, the thirty-third President of the United States of America.

See my sig.

 

[ATIuser]

Thank God we have the ACLU to defend our freedom to never have to hear the word God.

 

[miketheidiot]

Originally posted by: nutxo

Originally posted by: conjur

"We've been monitoring the website for a while," Joe Cook, the executive director of the Louisiana ACLU, told the New Orleans paper. "We thoroughly researched it, and we made the determination that the GPA had not only failed to correct the errors of its ways, as pointed out two years ago in the settlement, but in fact had gone out of its way to use taxpayer money to layer religious content upon religious content."

Seems like a blatant disregard for the settlement on the part of the site.

As for your failure to find God (heh heh), you didn't look very hard:

11/04/2004 - Silver rings signify teens' abstinence
The program is attractive to teens because it doesn't tell them that sex is bad. On the contrary, says 16-year-old Jordan Treadaway, the skits and speakers let the teens know that sex "is one of God's best gifts." So good, in fact, that it should be saved for just the right moment, and just the right person.

Seriously, Rip.

How about you stop worrying about what others should believe and Keep Your Religion Out of Our Government?

Go read some science fiction for a while. It would contain a helluva lot more truth than the crap websites you've been posting up here.

Is god mentioned in the declaration of independance or the constitution?

God is not mentioned in the constitution

 

[miketheidiot]

Originally posted by: DragonMasterAlex

Seriously, the most persecuted religious minotiry in America is Atheists, and I, for one of them, don't want any more of their fundamentalist ire pointed my way

 

[Taejin]

Originally posted by: Riprorin

Originally posted by: namike
I forgot absitnence is just for christian's right. Well, there goes that idea.

Absitnence = stops abortion, saves money, saves lives, stops STD's, stops AIDS, stops harrasment, stops alot of other bad thigns.

I ran accross this website a while back. It a website dedicated to African Americans in Jacksonville, FL.

http://www.blacksonville.com/Aidsawareness.htm

FACT: Three area zip codes (32206, 08, and 09 ) most populated by African-Americans on the Northside of Jacksonville predominate the cumulative HIV and AIDS cases in the counties top ten zip codes

* More than 78% of ALL HIV CASES in Duval are of African descent compared to 60% of those in Florida.
* 58% of area AIDS cases are Black, compared to 46% of those in Florida.
* Males make up a frightening 83% of all AIDS cases in the U.S., 78% in Florida. Other "suspective" facts among Black Men... among HIV positive gay men, blacks make up 50% as of 1999.
* In case rate per 100,000 pop., Florida is second behind New York.
* 1 in 50 African-Americans in Florida has AIDS

Something is going to have to get this under control. No medicine or prescription is out to stop it. Lots of cytokine research continues to help develop answers to stop HIV from binding to T-cell receptors, but nothign works......

I'm no M.D., but i can prescribe Abstinence, and i gurantee you it will stop AIDS via sexual transaction. HIV/AIDS cases casued by blood transfusions are exponentially smaller than sexual transmitted cases.

Interesting thing to think about. Especially if your a Black Floridians, worth taking the chance??? Anyone is rolling the dice with your LIFE. Think about it.

So no one in their right mind can in no way shape or form criticize absitence, so what if it mentions "GOD" it works.....i guess if whether something has the word "GOD" on it, makes it bad for Americans now-a-days.

Where will this country be in 20 years.

According to the ACLU, the mention of God on a website is more dangerous to society that than the 40 million or so abortions in the US since 1973, the millions who have died from AIDS, and the millions who have contracted STDs.

It is.

 

[IEC]

Originally posted by: rickn
abstinence is a very unrealistic ideal. It simply does not work. they'd be better off promoting anal sex as an alternative. Alteast that way you don't have to worry about unwanted pregnancy

What an idiot. Anal sex would be a GREAT way to spread STDs even more...

 

[rickn]

Originally posted by: ariafrost

Originally posted by: rickn
abstinence is a very unrealistic ideal. It simply does not work. they'd be better off promoting anal sex as an alternative. Alteast that way you don't have to worry about unwanted pregnancy

What an idiot. Anal sex would be a GREAT way to spread STDs even more...

since you have the mind of child and have to stoop to calling people idiots, I leave you to dig your way out (of your own crap)

and there are plenty of books on this subject, maybe you should familarize yourself with them before you go calling people idiots.