Prosecutor: Teach sex ed, go to jail

A Wisconsin district attorney is threatening teachers with criminal charges for following state law

Published April 7, 2010 5:01PM (EDT)

A Wisconsin prosecutor is threatening teachers with arrest for following the state's sex education curriculum. Scott Southworth, a district attorney in Crazytown Juneau County, has sent letters warning five different school districts that following a new law requiring schools with sex ed programs to teach students about STDs and pregnancy prevention could lead to criminal charges for contributing to the delinquency of minors. It's all very logical, you see: Ignore the law, avoid arrest!

"Forcing our schools to instruct children on how to utilize contraceptives encourages our children to engage in sexual behavior, whether as a victim or an offender," he wrote in the letter. "It is akin to teaching children about alcohol use, then instructing them on how to make mixed alcoholic drinks." Southworth must have bombed the analogy portion of the SATs; it's more like teaching teens about alcohol use and then instructing them on how to avoid alcohol poisoning and drunk driving. 

The legislation doesn't even require schools to teach sex ed but rather sets standards for those that do. Southworth would like to see all of those voluntary classes come to a screeching halt until the "sick and shameful" law is repealed. He says the new curriculum will "lead to more child sexual assaults," instruct "children on sex-for-pleasure" and allow "health care providers" to "market sexually-oriented products" -- as in contraceptives -- "to our children."

This doesn't happen often, but, readers, I am speechless. 


By Tracy Clark-Flory

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