Chaste Away

by Cory Frolik

"We're not just looking to make fun of things," says NARAL Pro-Choice Pennsylvania executive director Carrie Rae about her organization's online campaign, www.giveusrealchoices.org. The Web site and accompanying ad campaign, launched last week, take a slap at inadequate sexual awareness policy in Pennsylvania. Site visitors are asked to fill out a petition that will then be sent to a state representative, state senator or the guv, Ed Rendell. It reads, "Until you give us real choices, please rush me the only thing that the Pennsylvania State Legislature seems to want to provide to protect my reproductive health: a chastity belt."

Since 1999, the Pennsylvania Legislature has unanimously renewed a resolution designating a week in May (May 2 to 9 this year) as "Chastity Awareness Week." Rae finds it ridiculous that no such consideration is given to promoting sexual education, an enterprise her organization feels is a viable solution to unwanted pregnancies and sexual diseases. This nonbinding resolution also allocates close to $6 million yearly to organizations preaching the gospel of no dropping trow until an exchange of vows.

The resolution was pushed by the Family Life Educational Foundation (FLEF), a local affiliate of some serious pro-lifers like the Pro-Life Educational Foundation. Because of the FLEF's efforts, groups like the Silver Ring Thing, a Christian outfit that appeals to teens by pushing the chaste lifestyle as hip, receives $700,000 taxpayer dollars annually.

Selling "purity" as hip is one strategy to push abstinence; the other is scare tactics, Rae says. These organizations' brochures overflow with language to the effect of "having sex is very likely to kill you," Rae says.

NARAL couldn't bite its organizational tongue any longer, so it launched the Give Us Real Choices campaign.

More than just a pie-in-the-face of absurd policy, Rae hopes to kick-start discussion about contraception and sex education in general. With STDs coming back like disco never did (the clap is now more of a standing ovation), things could get worse before they get better.

Rep. Babette Josephs of Philadelphia's 182nd District, a staunch supporter of women's reproductive rights, has an inbox stuffed with petitions from the site. She says she was delighted to receive them and found them both funny and poignant.

Where does Josephs feel Pennsylvania ranks among other states in terms of sexual education? "We're in a race to the bottom. And we're doing well" at that, she says.