by Jim Brown
Three abstinence-only education workshops have been censored by New Jersey’s largest teacher’s union.
The New Jersey Education Association has canceled the three programs, which were slated to be held at the union’s November convention in Atlantic City. Although the pro-family New Jersey Family Policy Council and two doctors had received prior permission to conduct the workshops, the NJEA abruptly reversed course and pulled all three abstinence presentations.
The move comes despite a new state law requiring that New Jersey educational curriculum stress abstinence as the only way to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
Family Policy Council president Len Deo says his group was blacklisted for their beliefs. “We were originally told that there was a lack of space for the programs,” he says. “But get this: they're doing about 250 workshops–and we were talking about three.”
Deo says the teachers' union needs to be held accountable for censoring the programs. “We're looking at our alternatives right now and opportunities that we might have,” he says. “First, we feel that their decision not to have this as a discussion violates the state statute and the intent of our legislature. So we've had conversations with state senators about this particular issue, and we'll see where that goes.”
According to Deo, subsequent inquiries indicate the NJEA does not believe in abstinence-based education. “Therefore they felt that it would be better for them to be promoting 'comprehensive' sex education,” he says.
Apparently that is the case. The three workshops have since been reinstated–but will be presented by the Family Life Network of Rutgers University, which strongly supports comprehensive sex education.
(This article courtesy of Agape Press.)
