The school system might not be getting a lot of
phone calls about it, but apparently last night's meeting of parents who want
Planned Parenthood out of the schools was even larger than expected - 150 to
200 people, depending on which report you read. (The meeting organizers had
estimated 100 people earlier in the week; one can only assume our stellar media
coverage had something to do with spurring the increased turnout.)
There's no word whether any of the group plans to show up at next week's school board meeting, but it definitely seems like something is afoot for the March 2 meeting. One local parent, Julie Gautreau, is starting her own pro-sex-education Facebook group, Sane Parents of Knox County - kind of the polar opposite of the No Planned Parenthood-Knox County Schools group, which is now up to 89 members, from 30 on Tuesday. (For the record, this reporter has requested to join both groups specifically to keep you, dear readers, informed of happenings on both sides. Let's hope they both accept the request for the sake of our balanced reporting!)
Gauteau isn't the only person upset about the other parents being upset. And Pam Strickland's column in the News-Sentinel today details the STD rates among Knox County teens ages 10-17. (What she doesn't note, however, is those rates have actually been falling over the past few years; they're also a little bit lower than the state and national rates--details to follow in a later blog post, perhaps.)
But taking a look at statistics seems unlikely to quash the movement, which is actively recruiting state legislators to push for both a ban on Planned Parenthood in all Tennessee schools and a rewrite of the state's sex education laws themselves. It's no surprise our own Sen. Stacey Campfield is on board--and though this maybe shouldn't surprise us either, we were still a little taken aback to discover he thinks this whole mess is ultimately the fault of the teachers' unions. Even odder--though, again, we really should stop being surprised by these things--is the theory that last year's health care reform bill is to blame. (The fact that a non-profit entity like Planned Parenthood can't legally make a profit seems to escape some people.)
However, it seems like some students might be tempted to take the matter into their own hands. Tiffany Brooke Morgan, a classmate of Alaynna McCormick (whose mom started the whole push to oust Planned Parenthood) posted on the wall of the NPPKCS group:
"I am a 16 year old Christian student at Hardin Valley Academy and I believe that this whole group that you have going on to stop Planned Parenthood from teaching highschoolers about sex is WRONG! Everyone should learn about sex, especially highschoolers. It is a part of life that everyone NEEDS to accept! More teenagers are having sex than our past generations. There are also more diseases now than ever. You also wouldn't believe how much more perverted guys have gotten..Its [sic] crazy!"
Crazy. Indeed.
UPDATE: Both groups have indeed approved this reporter's membership, so we'll keep you posted on any more scandalous happenings!
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