Sex Advocates Join With Teachers Union To Take Control From Parents by urging Congress to take control of children’s sex education from parents. The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) and the National Education Association (NEA) are teaming up once again to advocate for explicit sex education. SIECUS publishes guidelines for sex education that call for children ages 5-8 to be taught about self touch and arousal, ages 9-12 to be taught different ways to seek sexual pleasure besides intercourse, and ages 16-18 to be taught about exotic fantasies enhanced by pornographic literature.

The Health Information Network of the NEA has signed their support for these guidelines. "The NEA and SIECUS were both supportive of a SB71 in California. That bill took authority away from parents and gave teachers the power to talk explicitly about sex to children of all ages. Parents do not support the messages that SIECUS and the NEA want to force on to their kids," said Leslee Unruh [Abstinence Clearinghouse] referring to a Zogby survey comparing sex and abstinence education [2/03]. When read direct quotes from the SIECUS "Guidelines on Comprehensive Sex Education," the Zogby survey found disapproval rates for the guidelines, with some statements garnering disapproval rates of more than 7 in 10 parents. The same study showed overwhelming approval (4.5 to 1) for the concepts taught in abstinence education. Unruh: "Parents do need to talk with their children, but not about SIECUS-style sex. They need to demonstrate love and healthy relationships so that their children can mature into adults that can sustain healthy, lifelong marriages." "The parent is the advocate of their child," explained Judy Gilliam, a 30-year veteran educator and assistant principal in Fort Wright, Kentucky. "I think we should teach respect for each other and respect for our bodies. I feel it is a parent’s right to be the primary educator of their child. They have the right to say what should and should not be taught, especially in sex education. The parent knows the child better than any teacher." [The Abstinence Clearinghouse; SIECUS & NEA Announcement, When: October 9, 2004, 9:00 am Where: Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC Who: Abstinence advocates, especially educators are encouraged to attend and give their support for abstinence education. PRESS RELEASE, Deanna Grimm; 605.335.3463; 10/8/03]