Ev'ry sperm is saaaacred...

[electricland]

This has been preying on my mind since elissa_carey posted it...

"My administration has championed compassionate alternatives to abortion, such as helping women in crisis through maternity group homes, encouraging adoption, promoting abstinence education, and passing laws requiring parental notification and waiting periods for minors," Bush said. - Bush declares National Sanctity of Human Life Day

Yeah, y'know what? I'd have a whole lot more respect for National Sanctity of Human Life day if I could find the word "contraception" in that sentence up there. (Or wait, this is W we're talking about -- make that "birth control". Either way.)

It's this kind of thinking that leads one to call Bush and his pals "anti-choice". Guess what? I'd love for abortion to be obsolete. I'd love it. I don't know any reasonable person who wouldn't. But relying on abstinence and adoption as the alternatives ain't gonna cut it.

Ah well, you know what the Monty Python boys say:

Every sperm is sacred.
Every sperm is great.
If a sperm is wasted,
God gets quite irate.

and also:

MRS. BLACKITT: Hmm. Well, why do they have so many children?
MR. BLACKITT: Because... every time they have sexual intercourse, they have to have a baby.
MRS. BLACKITT: But it's the same with us, Harry.
MR. BLACKITT: What do you mean?
MRS. BLACKITT: Well, I mean, we've got two children, and we've had sexual intercourse twice.

Granted, not totally apropos this thought since it refers to official Catholic opposition to birth control. But I adore that scene, and any excuse to quote Monty Python...

Comments

One more stab at the topic

[electricland.livejournal.com]

because I am not formulating my thoughts at all well.

I think the gap that is not addressed in most sex ed (at least in my day... I have read some stories that suggest that in some places, maybe, possibly, for the lucky few, they're getting better at this) is WHY it's maybe not such a great idea to have sex early, particularly without precautions (listen to me -- "precautions" -- how very '50s). Maybe because adults are so very reluctant to talk to kids about this kind of thing, they don't address it AT ALL -- stick to the terrible things that could happen to you if you have unprotected sex, that should be safe enough. There's a cognitive gap.

Damn, still not managing to say what I want to say. Ah well. Maybe tomorrow (Powerpoints done, yay!)

For further reading, a few relevant My Messy Bedroom columns (Josey is the greatest!):
Adolescent Sex (http://www.mymessybedroom.com/columnshow.asp?id=2401)
"I asked my sister if she talks to her 15-year-old son about sex. "I just told him I'm here if he wants to talk about anything," she answered. He's never come to talk to her about anything."

Can I come? (http://www.mymessybedroom.com/columnshow.asp?id=2419)
"I was at a workshop called "The Body Erotic," run by Montreal psychotherapist and generally cool chick Alison Carpenter. Thanks to a feature the conservative local daily newspaper ran on Carpenter's workshops, this group was a far cry from the primarily lesbian, feminist "I'm so open about my sexuality, I went topless at the Gay Pride parade and carry a dildo in my pocket" ultra-cool set she's used to."

Holy Fuck! (http://www.mymessybedroom.com/columnshow.asp?id=2393)
"I sat in a religion class at McGill University this week listening to a discussion on the pros and cons of pornography. Mrs Demoe would have popped her girdle hearing a student wonder whether watching porn with her boyfriend would really improve her sex life."

Mental Challenge (http://www.mymessybedroom.com/columnshow.asp?id=35)
"Turns out the biggest roadblock to implementing sex-ed programs for the mentally ill is the general assumption that mentally ill people don't have sex."

Sex Trade (http://www.mymessybedroom.com/columnshow.asp?id=11)
"Bridget Sinclair and Chi Nguyen say educators are missing the mark when they talk to young people about sex."

Virgin Again (http://www.mymessybedroom.com/columnshow.asp?id=2271)
"It's official. I am now a card-carrying secondary virgin. Stop laughing, I'm serious. I've decided to re-save myself for marriage."