Bust out your chastity belts, the Kansas Board of Education is talking about abstinence. The Kansas board has been controversy-free since 2007, when moderates voted to overturn science standards that challenged evolution and changed the definition of science (and made Kansas a laughingstock).
So here we have creationist Kathy Martin asking her fellow board members to block an annual contribution to an HIV/AIDS conference unless there's a "balance" of abstinence info at the Kansas City conference. The Topeka Capital-Journal quoted Martin saying: "This is something that is dear to me. As an educator, I can't in good
conscience tell a teenager, 'sure, honey, put on a condom and have a
good time with your boyfriend.'" Is Kathy Martin telling us sex is better without a condom?
Guessing not, but she is a mother of three.
The Kansas State Department of Education has a deal with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to pony up $8,000 to help pay for expenses at the conference where "teachers, school nurses guidance counselors" listen to speakers and
"discuss best practices in the area of HIV/AIDS and human sexuality
education." Best practices like if you're going to screw, wrap it up.
Martin wanted to make sure abstinence gets equal time, although even her fellow conservatives were trying to figure out what she meant by balance. The board shot down her idea of withholding the money -- and putting abstinence on a future meeting agenda.
To her credit, Martin packed it in. She told reporters taht she won't broach the subject until 2014 -- when K-12 health standards are up for review. Who knows if she'll even be on the board by then -- her current term runs through 2011.
And kids, even the Muppets and Fraggles know to wrap it up.
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