Contraceptives: Playing with Fire
Alexandria King
Issue date: 11/13/07 Section: Commentary
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Would you let your baby brother play with a knife? If your sister were to put a toy in her mouth, you'd run to take it away, knowing she would hurt herself. Why then are we allowing our children to play with fire in Portland, Maine? Last month, King Middle School resolved to hand out birth control pills to girls as young as 11. Parents there support this decision. They naively insist that offering the pill isn't promoting sex but protecting their girls.
Are they blind? What other message are the kids receiving than that it IS fine for them to have sex? Not only that, but they are promoting contraceptives. How can anyone demand respect from others while treating themselves, their bodies, as meaningless material to be used? Contraception strips away our human dignity.
We each have an implicit value-a "language" of the body that is only fulfilled in a real gift of self. Marriage is the sacred union whereby a man and woman each give that total gift. Why? Because in marriage they're completely open to the other's goodness. They have devoted their lives to each other and the two become one. This communion is only possible when the spouses are not withholding the procreative part of themselves.
To hold back that piece of one's being is an inherent lie in the language of our bodies. We give into the sexual urge without really valuing ourselves or the other person. Chastity is so crucial because only by practicing it do we communicate to the other that our self-gift is too precious to be trampled on.
Offering the pill does not keep our children safe, it threatens their little lives even further by sanctioning destructive behavior. It merely succeeds in appearing to eliminate the consequences of animalistic behavior. What message does this send? How will these kids, our future leaders, grow to view life? Where will their self-dignity be if they're taught to follow their passing desires while we provide a 'safe' way out of responsibility for their actions?
Clearly we cannot leave them alone in the dark, but why is teaching them abstinence "taboo"? Our children need to realize the incredible value of their personhoods. They need to know how special each of them is and how to uphold their inherent dignity. Why is this difficult to talk about? Are we afraid of being asked, "If you can do it…why can't I?"
(Contributing writer Alexandria King is a junior theology major.)
Are they blind? What other message are the kids receiving than that it IS fine for them to have sex? Not only that, but they are promoting contraceptives. How can anyone demand respect from others while treating themselves, their bodies, as meaningless material to be used? Contraception strips away our human dignity.
We each have an implicit value-a "language" of the body that is only fulfilled in a real gift of self. Marriage is the sacred union whereby a man and woman each give that total gift. Why? Because in marriage they're completely open to the other's goodness. They have devoted their lives to each other and the two become one. This communion is only possible when the spouses are not withholding the procreative part of themselves.
To hold back that piece of one's being is an inherent lie in the language of our bodies. We give into the sexual urge without really valuing ourselves or the other person. Chastity is so crucial because only by practicing it do we communicate to the other that our self-gift is too precious to be trampled on.
Offering the pill does not keep our children safe, it threatens their little lives even further by sanctioning destructive behavior. It merely succeeds in appearing to eliminate the consequences of animalistic behavior. What message does this send? How will these kids, our future leaders, grow to view life? Where will their self-dignity be if they're taught to follow their passing desires while we provide a 'safe' way out of responsibility for their actions?
Clearly we cannot leave them alone in the dark, but why is teaching them abstinence "taboo"? Our children need to realize the incredible value of their personhoods. They need to know how special each of them is and how to uphold their inherent dignity. Why is this difficult to talk about? Are we afraid of being asked, "If you can do it…why can't I?"
(Contributing writer Alexandria King is a junior theology major.)
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