-- From “Black Churches Gather to Promote ‘Reproductive Choice’” by Penny Starr, CNSNews Senior Staff Writer 7/10/08
(CNSNews.com) – Members and leaders from black churches gathered at Howard University School of Divinity this week to discuss sexuality, including how to make churches inclusive for homosexuals and what they say is the failure of federally funded abstinence-only education programs.
A program of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC), a nationwide coalition of religious groups trying to advance abortion rights, the 12th annual National Black Church Summit on Sexuality featured speeches by the majority whip of the U.S. House, Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), and former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders.
Workshops at the three-day event included “Pastoral Care and Reproductive Health Counseling,” which focused on “engaging women and families confronted with issues related to healthcare and reproductive health choices” – and included an introduction to churches on “how to provide a pregnant woman with all available information about their options – parenthood, adoption and pregnancy termination.”
In the “Speaking Truth to Power” workshop, attendees were taught how to lobby Congress to end funding of abstinence-only programs in favor of funding for “comprehensive sex education.”
The Rev. Carlton W. Veazey, president and CEO of RCRC, told Cybercast News Service that teaching abstinence isn’t enough to help stop the rise of teenage pregnancies in the black community.
“We can teach our young people, ‘Yes, I believe in abstinence only,” but I also believe I have to be realistic enough to tell my young people how to protect themselves and to keep from becoming pregnant,” Veazey said. “Now the critics say you’re encouraging them to have sex, and I say no such thing. I’m trying to save their life, number one, and I’m trying to break this cycle of teen pregnancy, number two. It’s a matter of education.”
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