Saturday, April 10, 2010

Speak no evil, hear no evil

In the neverending quest to criminalize everything, the Juneau County (WI) District Attorney has threatened to charge health teachers who teach their students how to use condoms or other birth control devices with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor charge that carries a maximum punishment of nine months in jail.

The DA, Scott Southworth, an evangelical Christian, took issue with a new state law that calls on schools to take a comprehensive approach to sex education -- something more than the "just say no" method. Mr. Southworth contends that telling students about birth control will only serve to make them want to have sex -- as evidence he pointed to the Milwaukee schools who teach a comprehensive approach to sex education and still have high teen pregnancy rates.

Of course he neglected to mention that Juneau County's teen birth rate (33.9 per 1,000) is about three percentage points above the state average and that Juneau County teaches abstinence.

Next up on Mr. Southworth's agenda: the evils of marijuana, cable television and that new-fangled internet thing. Stay tuned.

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