Amongst continued criticism of abstinence programs and the federal funding provided to them, one school in Ithaca, New York has stooped to new levels of criticism. The Ithaca Journal reports:


Opponents of the program, which the Ithaca Pregnancy Center presents in a number of area schools, argued that a focus on marriage could upset children from nontraditional families and that the organization's Christian affiliation was inappropriate for a public school.

That response came as a shock to Rhonda Mapes, the center's executive director, who said it felt like parents were on a "war path." Mapes and parents who backed the program contend that it contained no proselytizing -- only guidelines for making safe and healthy decisions.

The Ithaca Pregnancy Center, which is sponsored by more than two dozen area churches, takes its "I'm Worth Waiting For" program to as many as 10 public schools a semester, normally without incident, Mapes said.

The organization uses skits -- such as people passing around a half-eaten piece of chocolate or drinking out of the same glass of water -- that are intended to be funny while also driving home messages about the health risks of sexual activity, Mapes said.

If students ask about condoms, Mapes explains that the contraceptives aren't 100 percent effective, she said.

"The goal is to see abstinence as a good and attainable choice," Mapes said.

What upset many parents, though, was the way that message was wrapped around the pregnancy center's basic tenet of waiting for marriage.

Heaven forbid we try to instill in kids values that are healthy for them and their future families. And, we definitely would not want them to think they are actually WORTH waiting for a committed relationship within the confines of marriage before sharing something as intimate as a sexual relationship.