Knowledge is Power: The Government and The Church - NFP / FAM

My rant in yesterday's blog we not meant to be a slam on the church or anything. Although I personally do not identify with the Catholic church even though I was raised as a Catholic, anyone can believe anything they want to.

My point in regards to Natural Family Planning (NFP) and Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) in regards to the government and the church maybe should be clarified.

When I first started my menses (way back when) I was attending a Catholic School. During the little 45 min-1 hr. session where the nuns separate you from the boys and teach you about what being a woman means. We were told and I quote "Your husband will teach you all you need to know about intercourse." Needless to say I know of several girls who found this info out first hand before high school started and ended that got pregnant.

Now if the church already knew all this wonderful information about when you are fertile and when you aren't regardless of the fact that they do not believe you should have sex outside of marriage - they could have at least taught us what all these bodily things mean. I can't tell you how horrible I thought I was for being what I that was "dirty" when I actually had very normal cervical fluid (CF). This outrages me that because of one church held belief that women should be kept in the dark from this info!

Furthermore - in Katie Singer's The Garden of Fertility, she states that she tried to become a NFP/FAM teacher and the church would not allow her to become a teacher of the methods becasue she was not married and she was not celibate. What!? Why is the church holding back this information from women who are looking for the information. Granted the Couple to Couple League (CCL) [a wonderful organization] do teach non-Catholics but only if you are married. I doubt that they are doing classes for monogamous couples at college campuses across the country!

Ok - now some may argue that a private organization like the church who hold specific beliefs can teach or not teach whomever they want. Ok - I don't agree with it but I can see that argument.

In addition to all this - I later went to a public High School. Now here is where I expect my governemnt school system to step up and teach the science of what a female's body is actually doing in Health Class. If there is anywhere that FAM should be taught it is in a public school where my tax dollars are being used or at least in college! I even took Human Sexuality in college too and no where was there any mention of NFP or FAM! I am completely outraged at this -- I PAID for that college class! Our taxes pay for Health and sex ed classes for our schools and we aren't teaching young women what is happening right inside their own bodies. By the way I thought we had separation of church and state, so what the church won't teach young single women the state school systems should.

I am not saying to promote being sexually active at a young age or sex without condoms for young adults who are not in a monogomous relationship. I am saying teach these young women the science of what is happening in her own body!

Knowledge is Power!