Rev. Rob Eller-Isaacs, Co-Minister of Unity Church Unitarian in St. Paul and President of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association, spoke at the press conference.
Speakers at the St. Paul press conference.
Libby Arnosti, a seventeen year old UU who has been through the "Our Whole Lives" sexuality education program at her church, spoke at the press conference.
Advocates of Comprehensive Sexuality Education Hold Press Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota
September 5, 2008
In a press conference held in St. Paul, site of the Republican National Convention, a panel of clergy, youth and family advocates, and educators came together on September 4 to call on elected officials at the state and federal levels to stop funding for abstinence-only programs and protect adolescent health by supporting comprehensive sexuality education.Speakers included Rev. Debra Haffner, Director of the Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing; Rev. Rob Eller-Isaacs, Co-Minister of Unity Church-Unitarian of St. Paul and President of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association; Brigid Riley, Executive Director of Minnesota Organization for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention and Parenting (MOAPP); Dr. William J. Doherty, Marriage and Family Therapist and Licensed Psychologist; Dr. Chris Reif, family physician and a teacher of the UUA sexuality education curriculum "Our Whole Lives" in his congregation, and Libby Arnosti, a seventeen-year-old high school student and congregant at Unity Church-Unitarian.
Rev. Eller-Isaacs said in his remarks, “In the last few days there has been much discussion in the media about one pregnant seventeen year old. We celebrate Bristol Palin’s right to keep her baby. The attention focused on her pregnancy gives us an opportunity to re-focus that attention on the need to develop public policies that reflect genuine family values. I am proud to serve a congregation and a faith tradition which recognizes sexuality as a gift from God. Christian, Jewish, and Unitarian Universalist (UU) denominations are working together to provide comprehensive sexuality education that goes beyond anatomy and helps children establish healthy life affirming relationships.”
Rev. Meg A. Riley, Director of the Unitarian Universalist Association's (UUA) Advocacy and Witness staff group, served as moderator of the press conference and said, “We are not interested in talking about the personal choices of individuals and families. But we are very interested in talking about public policy that supports all families in making good choices.”
Although $1.5 billion dollars in taxpayer money has been spent on abstinence-only programs since 1996, they said, abstinence-only programs are not effective. According to recent statistics, one in four teenage girls has a sexually-transmitted infection, and of the 750,000 teen pregnancies that occur each year, 82% are unintended.
The religious leaders and educators pointed out that the best way to protect America’s young people from unintended pregnancies, and from sexually-transmitted diseases and infections, is by providing comprehensive sexuality education in our public schools.
For more information contact la_womensissues @ uua.org.
Last updated on Friday, September 5, 2008.
