SPCS

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY STANDARDS INC.

Call from Family First NZ – A Registered Charity – For De-Funding of Sex Ed Programmes run by three charities

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MEDIA RELEASE: Family First NZ, [a registered charity – in a media release issued 1 July 2012], is calling for the government to withdraw funding of the Family Planning and Rainbow Youth’s sex education programmes, resources and websites which fail to tell the full facts and which compromise the concerns and wishes of parents, and the safety of young people. [Both the Family Planning Association and Rainbow Youth Inc. are lobby groups regularly involved in “political advocacy” and are also registered charities].

“Despite groups like Family Planning and Rainbow Youth being challenged by US psychiatrist Dr Miriam Grossman to a debate last week to defend their websites and pamphlets targeted at young people, they ran for cover. They also appeared to take down one of the offending websites during Dr Grossman’s visit,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

Family First is especially concerned about websites such as curious.org.nz, theword.org.nz, getiton.co.nz and a number of Family Planning pamphlets.

“The current approach in NZ sows confusion about right and wrong and says the moral absolute is – use condoms. The government should fund evidence-based education resources which are approved by parents rather than saying one thing to parents and another to their children. Family Planning receives more than $11m from the government of which $2.6m is for education.”

A nationwide poll in January 2012 of 600 young people aged 15-21 found that only 19% supported just the ‘safe sex’ message currently being taught in schools, with one in three (34%) wanting ‘values, abstinence, and consequences such as pregnancy’ taught instead, and a further 42% asking for a combination of both – especially amongst older teens. A poll of parents in 2010 found that three out of four parents of young children want the abstinence message taught in sex education – with 69% of kiwis overall supporting the ‘wait’ message.

“This is a direct rebuke from young people to the ‘use a condom’ and ‘everyone’s doing it’ messages being pushed by groups like Family Planning, AIDS Foundation and Rainbow Youth,” says Mr McCoskrie.

“Many parents were rightly horrified last year when details of what was being taught in schools under the guise of ‘sex education’ surfaced. Judging by the results of the current approach – which is a good place to start – sex education has been an utter failure. New Zealand has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the OECD, our STD rates are out of control, and the number of teenage girls having abortions is tragically high.”

“For those youth who are sexually active, they are not being told the truth. Groups like the Family Planning Association and the AIDS Foundation are perpetuating the myth that as long as you use a condom, you can pretty well do what you like in terms of promiscuity, experimentation, and fringe behaviours – with little or no information on the physical or emotional ramifications or prevention of disease.”

In one example, a mixed class of boys and girls were asked by the AIDS Foundation [a government funded registered charity] if they had masturbated lately and were given condoms and strawberry-flavoured lubricant. They were also given a leaflet featuring graphic pictures, terms including “co*k” and “wa*k”, and advice on the best condoms. Reports last year highlighted that children as young as 12 are being taught about oral sex and told it’s acceptable to play with a girl’s private parts as long as “she’s okay with it”. In other cases, 14-year-old girls are being taught how to put condoms on plastic penises, and one female teacher imitated the noises she made during orgasm to her class of 15-year-olds. One concerned father took his 12-year-old son out of a sex education class at his all-boy school after he came home upset about what had happened during one of the lessons. It included a question-and-answer session that focused on, “I have learned that my girlfriend has a thing called a clitoris. I really want to play with it. Is that okay?” The answer was: “Yes, if you ask her and she’s okay with it.”

“A government-funded organization should be willing and able to defend their ideology and services which the taxpayer funds. It is time the government held them accountable,” says Mr McCoskrie.

ENDS

Family First NZ website: www.familyfirst.org.nz

Family First NZ – a registered charity – calls for abortion law change

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The latest figures released by Statistics NZ on June 19 show a drop in abortions. There were 15,863 abortions performed in New Zealand in 2011 as compared to 16,650 in the previous year, the lowest number since 1999.

To grasp the size of this number, one can compare it with the current population figures for three vibrant rural NZ towns: Tokoroa (14,200), Cambridge (14,400) and Ashburton (16,100).

If all the inhabitants of each of these three towns were killed, one town at a time per year, over three years, through the medical intervention of skilled registered health practitioners, funded by the tax-payer, pro-lifers argue that this would gives us a good comparison (numbers-wise) of the devastating impact of removing the same number of unborn children under our present system of (effectively) “abortion on demand”, over the last three years.

In the case of the elimination of foetuses (unborn children), the ability of these “victims” to respond to, protest, retaliate against, call for “human rights protection”, or seek refuge, from impending surgical removal; is somewhat muted compared to the elevated, hysterical, well-educated and strident calls for mercy that would come from the more mature denizens of Tokoroa, Cambridge and Ashburton, if they were faced with surgical elimination (genocide).

But of course, this gulf between the level and quality of the hypothetical ‘protest actions’ mounted by foetuses, compared with those  mounted by those actually able to speak for themselves; is perfectly comprehensible. The latter group, faced with elimination, are treated under current law as, in effect, “a superior class of human beings” – one that is “mature”, “fully sentient”, and “highly educated” (relatively speaking) and worthy of full “human rights” protections – while foetuses in contrast are “the unborn” – a mere “category” of “non-sentient” development tissue (sub-human/less than human).

The “passing” (elimination) of a foetus does not warrant the erection of a tomb stone or a national memorial, nor a death notice in a local paper, nor the awarding of a posthumous Queens Honours award for crowning achievements. Their crowns are not yet fully-formed, nor their tongues, nor their language-functions, nor their sensory apparatus, when they were aborted.

On average 55 teens have an abortion in New Zealand every week, 17 per cent being performed at 12 weeks or later despite the research on foetal development that has revealed the exquisite beauty and wondrous complexity of the organ and tissue structures of the unborn child, even as early as 12 weeks.

Challenge Weekly (June 25) reports that Family First NZ, a charity registered with the Charities Commission, “is calling for a law which requires informed consent, including ultrasound, for all potential abortions, and counselling to be provided only by non-providers of abortion services. Parental notification of teenage pregnancy and abortion should happen automatically except in exceptional circumstances approved by the court.

“It is incorrect to label abortion as ‘pro-choice’, because nobody chooses to be in the situation of unwanted pregnancy and having to make such a difficult decision,” said Mr McCoskrie.

The fact that 6042 women were recorded in NZ as having had a repeat abortion in 2011, has raised serious concerns among  members of pro-life groups.

References

1. Source of quotes from Family First NZ: Challenge Weekly, June 25, 2012, p. 3.

2. Statistics NZ – report released 19 June 2012

3. Cities Population data http://www.tageo.com/index-e-nz-cities-NZ.htm

Note: The SPCS has as one of its objects: “To promote recognition of the sanctity of human life and its preservation in all stages” (s. 2[b] of SPCS Constitution). Approved by the Charities Commission on 17 December 2007 (Reg. No. CC20268).

For more material from a Christian perspective on abortion see chapter 6 of Dr William Lane Craig’s Hard Questions, Real Answers. Online here:

http://christian-apologetics.org/2012/abortion-hard-questions-real-answers/

Does sex education belong in schools? – TV One Close Up

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Does sex education belong in schools? – TV One Close Up

On TV One’s Close Up on 25 June 2012, host presenter Mark Sainsbury talked to American psychiatrist Dr Miriam Grossman and Auckland sex education specialist, Dr Katie Fitzpatrick. Dr Grossman has been brought to New Zealand by Family First NZ, a registered charity with the Charities Commission, to speak at its Conference on Thursday 28 June, in Auckland.

Dr Grossman was highly critical of the approach taken to sex education in our schools by the New Zealand Family Planning Association Inc. (FPA), another charity and lobby group like Family First NZ, registered with the Charities Commission. She referred to FPA material which she said failed to point young people towards the “ideals”of abstinence before marriage, fidelity and faithfulness within marriage, and the true nature of marriage as a life-long loving commitment of a man and a woman – providing a secure structure in which children can be raised and nurtured in an stable, safe and supportive loving environment – one that is sanctioned by the state.

She accused FPA of (1) focusing on the mere mechanics of sex and condom use in particular, (2) failing to highlight the “ideal” goal for young people to pursue of establishing a life-long commitment to a loving relationship where sexual intimacy can be expressed as nature intended, (3) disseminating misinformation about the ‘safety’/effectiveness level of condoms as a safeguard against STI transmission, and (4) accepting as a given that sexual promiscuity is so widespread among young persons that little can be done to address the problems of unwanted pregnancies and STDs, other than handing out free condoms and informing young pregnant girls about how they can secure an abortion.

Dr Katie Fitzpatrick disagreed and vigorously defended FPA’s policies and practice, stressing that instruction in the nature of human relationships within which sexual intercourse is appropriate is in fact taught by FPA. However, the evidence cited by Grossman from FPA website and printed content, indicated that it is largely devoid of any messages encouraging teenagers to abstain from sex prior  to marriage (as an alternative to casual sex) and certainly provides few if any with reasons for doing so.

Grossman feels that FPA has failed to inform young people of the seriousness of the consequences of engaging in promiscuous casual sex. FBA material such as “Get it On” and content on its “theword” website (www.theword.org.nz) came in for attack.

The New Zealand Family Planning Association Inc. (“Family Planning”) was registered as a charity with the Charities Commission on 13 September 2007 (Reg. No. CC11104). In the financial year ended 30 June 2011 FPA received income made up of $11,362,189 (government grants/contracts), $859,746 (other grants), $2,039,486 (income from service), $2,779 (membership fees) and $11,089 (donations). Its total gross income was $15,071,008, the bulk of it sourced from NZ taxpayers.

FPA’s total expenditure for 2010/11 was $14,624,562 with $10,014,371 alone spent on salaries and wages. It employed 62 people full-time and 214 people part-time. In an average week 6500 hours of paid work was carried out, the vast bulk of it funded by the NZ taxpayer.

Dr Miriam Grossman – US Psychiatrist Who Called Foul on Sex Educators – Visits NZ

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Press Release: Family First Lobby (25 June). Family First NZ, a charity registered with the Charities Commission, has brought a  “US Psychiatrist Who Called Foul on Sex Educators” to speak at its “Forum on the Family” on Thursday 28 June, in Auckland……

Dr Miriam Grossman is coming to New Zealand as a guest of Family First NZ and will undertake an extensive tour and media campaign. She will also be a keynote speaker at the annual Forum on the Family on Thursday 28 June. www.forumonthefamily.org.nz and is speaking to Auckland school principals and trustees at a public meeting http://www.familyfirst.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Trustee-meeting.pdf
Miriam Grossman, M.D., is a board certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist. She attended New York University Medical School and completed her residency in psychiatry, followed by a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry, through Cornell University. She writes and speaks internationally to parents, students, educators, legislators and health professionals internationally on the dangers of political correctness in her profession. She is the author of You’re Teaching My Child WHAT? A Physician Exposes the Lies of Sex Education and how they harm your child (2009) and Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student (2006)

Miriam Grossman, MD, psychiatrist, author, and whistle-blower has lectured at the UN Commission on the Status of Women and in Britain’s House of Lords. Dr. Grossman’s mission is to highlight the dangers of last century’s anything-goes, condom-based approach to sexual health. With examples from cutting edge research, she proves that sex is a serious matter, and can never be “casual,” especially for girls. Her politically-incorrect books and lectures provide parents with urgently needed ammunition to counter the hazardous messages that bombard young people, some of which come from trusted sources.

Instead of teaching our children biological truths, sex educators are lying to them, ignoring science in favor of radical and dangerous social agendas. Dr. Miriam Grossman will rip back the curtain on sex education today, exposing a sordid scam. She has treated more than 2,000 students at one of America’s most prestigious universities, and she’s seen how the anything-goes, women-are-just-like-men, “safer-sex” agenda is actually making our sons and daughters sick.

Ends

Source: Scoop News: US Psychiatrist Who Called Foul on Sex Educators – Visits NZ

Monday, 25 June 2012, 8:51 am
Press Release: Family First Lobby.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1206/S00340/us-psychiatrist-who-called-foul-on-sex-educators-visits-nz.htm

SAFE (Save Animals From Exploitation) – a registered charity & its “political advocacy”

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Protest challengers cage egg industry: SAFE – registered charity and political entity: its “perpetual advocacy of a particular view”. TV One 7 AM News reported this morning that animal welfare activists from a registered charity SAFE (Save Animals from Exploitation Inc.) and other animal rights lobbyists have mounted a campaign of civil disobedience by blocking the entrance to the Mainland Poultry complex in Waikouaiti, just north of Dunedin, in order to protest against the farming of poultry in colony battery cages.

SAFE issued its Media release to Voxy News at 4.54 am today that alerted media to the protest (see link below). A TV One News crew was at the protest site reading for filming at the crack of dawn today  – thanks to the registered charity SAFE.

The array of lobbyists are demanding that the law be changed to outlaw such farming practices and intend to remain in place infringing the rights of workers and management to enter the complex and go about their lawful business, until they are removed by police. SAFE campaign director Eliot Pryor was part of the ground crew coordinating the blockade of  Mainland Poutry, and was supported by other SAFE members present.

Since it was registered as a charity (CC40428) with the Charities Commission headed by Mr Trevor Garrett, on 30 June 2008, SAFE’s vociferous lobbyists have been engaged in the “perpetual advocacy of a particular point of view”, to use the ‘terminology’ of the Charities Commission’s Monitoring and Investigations Team.    

SAFE’s  financial accounts (available on line on the Charities Commission’s website www.charities.govt.nz), reveal that in the financial year ended 31 March 2011, it employed nine full-time charity workers and 5 part-timers. SAFE records a total annual salary and wages bill of $589,430, for the financial year ended 31 March 2011. This pay-out constituted 61% of the charity’s annual income of $917,315 sourced from donations from the New Zealand public.

Voxy News reports today:

MEDIA RELEASE BY SAFE

Protest challenges cage egg industry

Access to the largest battery cage facility in New Zealand has been blocked today by animal welfare activists protesting against cages for layer hens.

Early this morning eight metre high tripod structures with climbers suspended were set up at the entrance to the Mainland Poultry complex in Waikouaiti and activists from The Coalition to End Factory Farming expect to remain in place until they are forced down.

“The action is being carried out to highlight the continued cruelty of cages,” says SAFE Campaign director Eliot Pryor, “and especially to stop the introduction of the proposed colony battery cage system. Both SAFE and The Coalition to End Factory Farming want to see all cages banned for egg-laying hens. The so-called enriched colony cages are not an acceptable alternative to the existing system as the welfare benefits are so minimal.”

“Mainland Poultry has refused the media access to these new colony battery cages and it is easy to see why,” says Mr Pryor. “They do not want the public to see the abhorrent conditions the animals are forced to live in. They do not want to explain to consumers why hens are crammed inside cages so cramped they have barely any room to move.”

Secretly filmed images of the colony battery cages in the Mainland facility, showing a dark future for New Zealand’s three million battery hens, were revealed by activists on national television earlier this year. The Minister for Primary Industries, David Carter, is considering approving the introduction of colony battery cages as part of the new welfare code for layer hens.

Colony battery cages do not provide the hens with the opportunity to display their normal behaviour as required by the Animal Welfare Act. Both New Zealand and international animal welfare agencies have condemned them, declaring the cages “fail to properly meet the hens’ physical or behavioural needs”.

“The law does not meet the welfare needs of these animals and as the law fails the hens, and producers resist moving to better welfare systems, you will find more reaction from consumers,” says Mr Pryor. “All retailers need to be looking again at their supply chain and asking themselves what their customers would find acceptable.”

Eighty per cent of Kiwis are opposed to battery cages, and SAFE encourages the public not to be fooled into believing that the new colony battery cages are acceptable. Consumers can contact the Minister directly to demand a ban on all cages at nocages.org.nz.

Media Release from Animal rights activist charity SAFE (Save Animals From Exploitation).

Voxy News. Monday 25 June 2012

http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/protest-challenges-cage-egg-industry/5/127249

Reference: www.nzopenrescue.org.nz “SAFE campaign director Eliot Pryor was part of the ground crew” [in the blockade of Mainland Poultry]