In Oklahoma, abortion can only be discussed as a negative

[Panich52]

"Edmond Santa Fe High School officials confirmed Tuesday several biology teachers at the school gave their students a ‘non graded exercise’ – a discussion starter – on human genetic disorders,” reports local news channel KFor.com. “’You’ve found out that the child you (or your wife) carries has the gene for dwarfism. A new therapy exists that may repair this gene before the child is born. What do you do?’ the first question on the exercise asks. A. Allow the child to be born with the gene, and we will accept the child as is. B. Attempt the new therapy to repair the gene. C. Terminate Pregnancy.’”

According to the teachers, the goal of the quiz was to sort students into groups based on their answers so that they could discuss medical ethics. Parents, however, were unhappy that the topic came up at all. “Teachers did not try to impose their abortion beliefs on students,” administrators told the news station.  “They were studying genetic mapping and wanted to encourage critical thinking.”

Unfortunately, not a lot of discussion was to be had, because many of the students didn’t answer the question. The reason why? They were afraid of the reactions they would get from other students if their beliefs on abortion didn’t conform with their fellow students. One anonymously told reports that “reputations can be ruined by talking about their stance on abortion.”

Why are students afraid of their peers finding out their beliefs when it comes to abortion, even in something as non-threatening as a classroom exercise on medical ethics and genetics? Because abortion and even basic sex education has been so ostracized from a regular high school curriculum that just the vague mention of it has students believing that something inappropriate is being talked about.

Obviously, though, it isn’t abortion itself that can’t be in the classrooms, but any mention that it can ever potentially not be something offensive or sinful. Across the country, growing numbers of high schools are seeing “pro-life” student groups being established, or students who have been encouraged to participate in Day of Silence, to bring in pro-life cupcakes, or wear their pro-life shirts.

In most of these communities, abortion discussion is more than welcome in their schools. The key is, it can only be done with one intention — to condemn the practice and never, under any circumstances, allow a scenario in which terminating a pregnancy could in fact be a legitimate option.

Due to this one-sided stance, it’s not just scenarios for learning like this medical ethics situation where students suffer. It’s the same mindset that started a battle in Arizona, where an honor’s biology textbook was almost ripped into pieces in order to protect students from two pages in the text that mentioned that abortion is a medical procedure that ends a pregnancy, and that contraception is a device or medication that stops a pregnancy from occurring in the first place.

Under the guise of “parental control” and “protecting children,” abortion opponents have managed to oust sex ed and honest talk about reproduction and pregnancy, while at the same time approving one-sided abstinence only classes and promoting “pro-life” student groups. No wonder students not only have no idea how to prevent pregnancy, they are terrified to even express an opinion when it comes to abortion itself, even if a teacher asks for it as an assignment. Parents may somehow believe they are protecting their offspring, but in reality, they are only ensuring an ignorance that puts them more at risk for unwanted pregnancy, and instilling a fear and shame into them when it happens, that won’t just effect whether they carry to term or not, but the care they receive in either circumstance.

They may claim they are helping children, but in reality, they are helping no one.

Care2 Causes
"'Ethics' Quiz Shows How Abortion Can Only Be Discussed in Schools If It’s Done Negatively"

More links in article:

http://www.care2.com/causes/ethics-quiz-shows-how-abortion-can-only-be-discussed-in-schools-if-its-done-negatively.html

[Runningdawg]

1. Sad but true

I see ANY attempt at this discussion in OK schools as progress.
I went to a small school in OK - 7 people in my class of 1977. Every day the teacher would write a bible verse on the blackboard and before class started we would say the pledge of allegiance and then the teacher would pick a student to say a prayer.
They would never have DARED to ask a question such as the one posed above. The only correct answer would have been A. IF the question had been asked and you answered B it would have been as bad as if you had answered C. You NEVER alter Gods creation in ANY way. Again, IF the question had been asked and I answered truthfully it would have been B or C. I would have been sent to the principals office, my parents and pastor would have been called and I would have been locked my room with a bible until I turned 18.