Here in British Columbia a big time heat wave is ongoing. Nighttime temperatures are routinely reaching the mid 20′s. To help keep cool, I have been using a desktop fan in my bedroom during both day and night. This includes sleep. I am none the worse for doing so.
Since I am writing this blog post, I am clearly still alive. So obviously, there is no such thing as “fan death“.
Canada has now reported a case of swine flu resistant to oseltamivir (Tamiflu). This raises an interesting question for the people this post is addressed to. Since, according to you, evolution does not happen, swine flu is not becoming resistant to Tamiflu. Hence, if you are infected with it, you will never need any alternatives. Even if your life depended on getting those alternatives, you would never use them because Tamiflu would always work. If you act otherwise, then you’ve just shown that there are no creationists in foxholes.
There is an argument against comprehensive sex education that basically argues that since we do not teach young people how to use drugs safely, we should not teach them how to have sex safely/use contraceptives/etc and instead should focus on abstinence alone. This argument fails for several reasons.
Humans are animals, are biological organisms. Humans have a natural, evolutionary tendency desire to have sex; indeed, if we didn’t, we’d be extinct. Do humans have a natural, evolutionary tendency to do drugs? Certainly not tobacco and cocaine, as those are native to the Americas. Similarly, cannabis is native to central Asia north of the Himalayas. Basically, do not have any biological need to use these drugs. (Medicine does not count; is is possible, although painful, to never use a painkiller, for example.) Alcohol may be a partial exception, as light consumption may have some beneficial effects, but otherwise biology does not make us have to do drugs. Basically, people normally have a sex drive, but do not normally have a “drug drive”.
Similarly, there are different things involved in using drugs versus having sex. How does one go about, say, obtaining marijuana? One can grow it, or buy it from someone. For heroin, one has to buy it. The same applies for other drugs. This allows multiple means to go about and prevent drug use. Besides telling people not to use it, one can also go after suppliers, dealers, and the like. One cannot do that with sex. All one needs to have sex is someone else willing to do it with you. The only way to the same to sex as is done to drugs would be to prevent people from spending time with others. In short, there are generally more steps involved in doing drugs than in having sex.
Finally, most drugs (caffeine is a notable exception) are illegal, and alcohol and tobacco are age restricted. Although there is an age of consent for sex this is not the same thing. Once one reaches the legal age of consent it is legal for them to have sex with someone else willing to and who is also of the age of consent. Even if there is a blue law banning non-marital sex, such laws are unenforced (the government has better things to do than control people’s sex lives). Hence, even if they are de jure illegal, they are de facto legal. This is not the same as people getting away with drug possession. Even if most people who smoke marijuana are not caught, people are still charged if found to be in possession of it. The same happens for other illegal drugs.
Hence, for these reasons, the “we do not teach young people how to use drugs safely” argument against comprehensive sex education does not work.
This is good news. On the 8th, the 9th District Court of Appeals ruled that pharmacies are not allowed to refuse to sell emergency contraception. According to the unanimous ruling, a patient’s right to timely medication (important with EC) takes precedence over a pharmacist’s personal views:
Any refusal to dispense — regardless of whether it is motivated by religion, morals, conscience, ethics, discriminatory prejudices, or personal distaste for a patient — violates the rules.
Via.
Edit: Publishing date changed to July 17 so discussion can continue.
Shorter Jill Stanek: Premarital sex is as bad as murder.
Steven Waldman of Beliefnet e-mailed Jill Stanek and asked her about why people like her were opposed to using contraception as a means to reduce the need for abortion. She mentioned that she was against it because she thought it led to sinfulness. Waldman then asked her for clarification, arguing that even if contraception led to the sins of hypocrisy and premarital sex, wouldn’t these be less bad than abortion?
Stanek then responded, arguing that there is no scriptural basis for allowing “lesser sins” to prevent “greater sins”. She then said (emphasis added), “That premise aside, it is no “lesser sin”to commit extramarital [sic] sex — both before marriage and during marriage.” Since Stanek thinks that abortion is murder, and since she thinks premarital sex is as bad as abortion, she thinks that premarital sex is as bad as murder! Since 95% percent of Americans have premarital sex, she clearly thinks that 95% of Americans are the moral equivalent of murderers. Since we punish murder with lengthy prison terms or the death penalty, I’d like to indicate that doing the same to 95% of the US population would be pretty brutal.
Stanek is entitled to her beliefs, and it may well be possible to argue that premarital sex is wrong, but is it as bad as murder? (Hint: no.)
Via RH Reality Check.
