While the entire world is dealing with trying to stop the spread of a deadly virus, Planned Parenthood and their allies have not stopped their efforts to sexualize our children. We lay out the shocking details below, but first I want to let you know how MFI is continuing to help parents fight back, even from home. I’m happy to share with you a link to our first virtual parent forum presented in coordination with Massachusetts Informed Parents. This thorough presentation explains how children are being sexualized under the guise of “education” in MA public schools and shows actual exhibits from CSE curricula. It also provides details about the Sex-Ed Mandate that has already passed the MA State Senate and what we need to do to stop it. 

Last week we shared online resources for parents to help keep their kids academically engaged after Governor Baker ordered schools to close. But groups like ours aren’t the only ones sharing at-home educational resources during the coronavirus quarantine. Amaze.org, a digital media platform that claims they provide “honest” sex education that is medically accurate and age-appropriate, is rolling out an at-home sex ed series via their Facebook page. 

In an email sent out to their subscribers, they promised to share daily “helpful videos, infographics, and resources to help spark important conversations at home.” Included in their email was a link to one of these so-called “helpful” videos titled, “Is it Normal to Watch Porn?” The video opens by answering the question with an enthusiastic “Yes!” 

Is this what amaze.org considers “honest sex education?” Telling kids that it’s perfectly normal to watch porn doesn’t sound medically accurate or age-appropriate to me, and researchers agree. Studies have shown that porn is highly addictive and has negative and detrimental effects on the brain and behaviors of youth. 

According to Culture Reframed, an organization that is addressing the public health crisis created by hypersexualized media and pornography, watching porn produces multiple negative effects for both adolescent boys and girls. Boys who are exposed to porn are more likely to have attitudes that support sexual harassment and violence toward women, have decreased academic performance, and develop sexual preoccupation and compulsive internet use. While girls who see hypersexualized images tend to engage in risky sexual behavior, have an increased propensity to develop eating disorders and engage in self-harm, and have an increased likelihood for drug and alcohol abuse. And both boys and girls who watch porn were shown to have increased levels of anxiety and depression. 

Not surprisingly, a report published by The National Center on Sexual Exploitation asserts that children exposed to pornography tend to engage in sexual acts at younger ages, resulting in increased STDs, unwanted pregnancy and many other negative emotional consequences. 

So, research confirms what common sense already tells us – that watching porn isn’t healthy for kids. Even though these facts are readily available, still amaze.org videos like the one mentioned above are promoted by organizations like Planned Parenthood and are also listed as a “reputable” resource in much of the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) curriculum being taught in MA schools. MFI has warned about the dangers of CSE here and here. 

Planned Parenthood, SIECUS, and Advocates for Youth, all proponents of CSE curriculum being taught in our public schools, claim that their brand of sex ed decreases instances of STDs and unwanted pregnancy. Yet, out of 60 school-based studies that examined the effectiveness of CSE, NONE of them found evidence of success in achieving either objective.

Like amaze.org, Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts announced on their Facebook page that they are “working to adapt as much training and workshop content as possible to virtual platforms.” They will be offering free webinars answering student questions about sexuality and using the Get Real mobile website to train parents and educators and to give access to their Get Real CSE curriculum. Look at this harm analysis for their 8^th grade curriculum, now being taught in many MA schools. Out of 15 harmful elements typically found in CSE curricula, Get Real contains all 15, including things like promoting oral and anal sex and solo and mutual masturbation to children.

Now is not the time to back away from our efforts to protect our children. Here’s what you can do:

• Get informed – watch the virtual parent forum presented by MFI and Massachusetts Informed Parents.

• Opt your children out of CSE sex ed classes. Exercise your parental rights and use this letter to exempt your child from any curriculum or presentation that involves sex ed or sexuality issues.

• Let elected officials know that you oppose the Sex-Ed Mandate. Call your state representative. Find their contact information here. Also, contact MA Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo at 617-722-2500.

• Join the Massachusetts Informed Parents Facebook group for up to date information on the dangers of CSE and the efforts of our state legislature, MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Planned Parenthood, and others to mandate CSE curriculum in our public schools.

• Schedule a virtual parent forum for your church or community group. Contact Michael King via email or call 978-204-9131.

As students all over the Bay State are home from school per Governor Baker’s shelter in place order, parents have been given the opportunity to participate more directly in their child’s education. This could be a good time for you to have important conversations with your children on a variety of topics, including sex ed. Josh McDowell Ministry offers multiple links to resources for families regarding sex and relationships and recommends media and internet safety products to protect kids online. And Christian Marriage Adventures recommends must-have resources for teaching children a biblical view of sex. Counteract the negative messages kids receive about sex from the media and groups like Planned Parenthood and amaze.org to sexualize kids in our schools (and our homes!), with positive biblically based sex ed instead.