Y-Peer, Advocates for Youth Abortion and Legal Prostitution

None of you likely know what or who "Y-Peer" is. Neither did I until tonight. Y-Peer is a United Nations Population Fund initiative organizing youth across the globe as advocates and educators in the area of sexual and reprodutive health. Many believe that the crisis of youth sexually transmitted diseases necessitates such leadership by our youth. Prima facie, this approach brushes aside the primary role parents should play in the education of their children. Beyond that, a statement by this multi-continent organization implies that it supports abortion for "youth" and decriminilization of prostitution and drug abuse. Further below is a quote from the organization confirmed on their own website which provides evidence in supoprt of this allegation. As often is the case, such objectionable ideas are buried within a gauntlet of less offensive, even sympathy producing issues. These are the forces which are facing us as parents and which threaten to indoctrinate our children with sexual filth and perversity. For more commentary on this organization's controversial statement, go HERE or HERE. (Even if you don't read the link, clicking on it will raise its rating in internet search engines)

“Young women’s health is threatened by policies and services that do not provide life-saving access to family planning and contraception. It is vital to implement key effective measures in the continuum of care for maternal health, including access to safe abortion...The rights of marginalized young people, including those who are living with HIV, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, young men who have sex with men, sex workers, injecting drug users, disabled youth, young people in crisis situations and other vulnerable youth continue to be violated through policies and programmes that criminalize them and ignore their specific needs.”

Kentucky Third Graders Searched by Teacher

A couple of basic elements in building successful relationships are trust and respect. It starts at a very young age. If adults show trust and respect toward young children, then the kids are more likely to do the same in return. Well, some authority figures (a.k.a: teachers) in Kentucky don’t understand that concept. When an envelope containing $5 for a school function went missing from the teacher’s desk, it was time to find which 3rd grade student was the thief. What better way to handle the issue then to line the kids up, ask them to remove their socks, search their pockets and in some cases pat them down. Some of these teachers have been watching too many episodes of “COPS.” There are very few reasons why a teacher needs to physically touch a student. A missing $5 does not make that list in my book.

Read the entire story HERE.

Your Rights with DCS (by Nathan Tutor)

A family I know of recently had a visit from their local Department of Child Services (DCS) to respond to an allegation of abuse of their children. Turns out that they were seen 'abusing' the child in public by administering corporal punishment in their car in the parking lot. Despite their insistence of the proper loving use of correction as per their religious convictions, they were visited and investigated by these 'child protection' services. They were made to think that the authority granted this agency was final.

This article on a Connecticut law put in place this summer highlights the jurisdiction granted to these departments and the scope of their legal authority. As you can read, this authority is limited and the parent has the right to an attorney and the right to limit the conversation with the agency to a simple, 'Thanks for coming. My people will talk to your people." In short, this law puts the authority of the child into the hands of the parents at this initial stage.

In Tenessee, the laws for child services are complicated and strong. A quick web search for 'tn child abuse' will produce article after article about horrible situations of parental neglect and abuse of a child. The document (HERE) for 'clients' (parents) to understand the departments procedures seems innocent enough at first, but careful reading will soon reveal that the parent has little or no recourse should the department 'deem' it necessary to take a particular action. It is clear that the parents serve the department and that the burden of proof is on the parents.

Knowing your rights should you be faced with allegations will help you in taking appropriate steps and help you to navigate the initial, and subsequent, interactions with the agencies involved.

Guest post by Nathan Tutor

Child Protective Services and Obese Children

The past week saw a signficant increase in the number of search engine hits for obese children and intervention, but it wasn't to report some new medial breakthrough in their care. Rather, this attention was spurred by a recent Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) article, recommending the removal of a small number of morbidly obese children from their parents when they are believed to be in imminent danger. There are a number of serious discussion growing out of this particular article, but it is also accompanied by a considerable amount of name calling come from various directions in the comment sections. In contrast, I hope to provide my readers with some questions to challenge the articles in a logical and much needed manner.

Overall, as the article itself (and another article from Pediatrics in 2009), emphasizes, childhood obesity is a serious problem that is affecting more and more children across our nation. No one can seriously argue that we are not facing an epidemic. These morbidly obese children are facing diabetes, sleep apnea, hypertension not only in their future adulthood, but sometimes beginning in their childhood. With such staggering numbers growing and with such serious consequences, most agree that something must be done. The problem begins here, with the simple question "What do we do?"

Therefore, a goal of the proposed intervention should be stated. Do we aim for a perfect weight? Do we aim for a threshold of weight loss? Do we just try to avoid the comorbidities listed above? Before implementing any solution, we need a reasonable target. The article from Pediatrics provides a somewhat clearer picture of its purpose in contrast to the JAMA article which discussed the importance of avoiding complications but did not put this into a simple purpose statement. The Pediatrics article proposes a target of avoiding the complications of morbid obese which present an immediate threat to the child's health. This seems reasonable at face value prior to a closer scrutiny.

The closer scrutiny asks two questions: First, "Is the intervention effective at reaching this goal?" In the case of removing a child from their families in order to treat their obesity, case studies are presented, but no study is presented as anything near conclusive evidence. Basically, the authors are saying that they once knew a patient with this condition that benefitted from this intervention. It worked for them, so it should work for everyone else just as well. To their credit, the authors of the Pediatrics article try to address successful strategies such as lifestyle interventions, medical therapies, and surgical therapies. However, neither article provides any study level evidence that removing children from their parents is either effective for the stated problem, or is effective without producing harmful effects in other important areas of a child's life. They seem to be advocating for something rather untested, basing their claims mainly on anecdotal evidence. That concerns me greatly.

The second question is "Is that target worth the cost of the intervention or solution?" This addresses something alluded to above: what side effects may occur from this intervention. If I prescribe a pill for a patient, they are reasonable to ask what are the side effects. If they advocate removing children from their parents, it is reasonable, if not a requirement to ask "What ill effects may be predicted by this intervention?" Obviously, there are a number of potential harms from this intervention. Removing children from the parents to whom they are dearly attached and placing them in foster homes may not result in long term benefits overall even if weight is lost. Our foster system is not able to absorb these vulnerable children nor care for the stigma such a placement will entail.

I hope to revisit this issue soon, but so far I am not convinced by the arguments or proofs found in these articles. I have not heard convincing reasons to overturn the fundamental rights of parents to direct the upbringing of their own children.

Stimulus Money for Education

I find information from a number of sites for this newsletter and usually summarize them before inviting you to read further at your leisure with a link. This time I will only provide a teaser riddle and a link to the full story.

How much brainwashing can be purchased in Nebraska with $130,000 of Obama's stimulus money? GO HERE to find out!

Homosexual Role Models in Textbooks

Have you ever wondered who decides how material is chosen for inclusion into school textbooks? There is so much for children to learn, yet so little time. Who is the all knowing wizard that selects or rejects each bit of information for these textbooks which are then spread across 50 states to "educate" the children of our great nation. I am no expert on this issue, but what I have heard as the answer to this question does not surprise me one bit. As the largest states, Texas and California's educational systems determine what information is included in textbooks. If the textbook producers want to sell their textbooks, California and Texas are the two biggest customers. Always please the customer, especially the big ones!


Who cares? Why write an article about this? Well, it goes like this. The California Senate passes Senate Bill 48 that requires that textbooks includes teaching about homosexual figures in the social studies classes. (the so-called FAIR Education bill also prohibits the inclusion of "homophobic" material in the historical lessons of books). If the governor signs the bill, then California will need textbooks with positively portrayed homosexual figures included in social studies books. Book publishers will produce the books and sell them to California as well as across the nation. Abracadabra and there you have homosexuality dressed up for our nation's school children.


In a LifeSite.News article, Archbishop Jose Gomez from Los Angeles had this to say about the bill:


"...forcing schoolchildren to learn about historical figures and their sexual orientation without parental consent "amounts to the government rewriting history books based on pressure-group politics. It is also another example of the government interfering with parents' rights to be their children's primary educators." "



I am thankful that we homeschool and therefore do not need such textbooks, but maybe you know someone whose children attend public schools and need to know about this story. Consider passing it on to them and start a discussion about this threat to our children's moral future.

Sexual Freedom and Your Child

The International Planned Parenthood Federation has released some alarming new educational material concerning the sexual rights of youths according to international law. "Exclaim!" and "I Decide" have been released as the the UN Youth conference is nearing and provide some scary insights into what Planned Parenthood believes is best for our children. I am printing out Exclaim for closer reading as I type this, but a LifeNews article, which is what originally sparked my curiosity, provided some initial understanding of this sexual indoctrination propaganda.


Here is a quote from the article describing Exclaim!


"The guide also contains some self-contradictions. It cites the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,Article 5 that states, "Parties shall respect the responsibilities, rights and duties of parents." However, the guide insists that parents and the State are legally responsible for promoting a worldview and values that are held distinctively by IPPF. The guide demands liberalized abortion, self-identified (rather than biological) gender on identification papers, unrestricted access to contraceptives, and various other contentious claims."


The article also describes how Exclaim! uses the Convention on the Rights of the Child to promote sexual rights for youth:

"Although no right to sex or sexual pleasure exists in binding international documents, the guide goes through a list of human rights found in international law and explains how they can be read as sexual rights. Under the "right to know and learn" includes "bringing an end to abstinence-only sex education programs and promoting evidence informed approaches to comprehensive sexuality education.""



After reading Exclaim! and I Decide, I hope to provide further insight into these horrendous educational instruments. STAY TUNED!

ACTION ITEM FROM THE NATIONAL OFFICE

In preparation for the launch of our summer campaign, we now need to recruit a "social networking army". If you blog, tweet, post, and so forth, we will need your help this summer. (If this sounds like Greek to you, relax - we will find you something else to do!)

To Join our social networking army, use the followling links to connect to us (or email the national office at Michael@parentalrights.org)


Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/parentalrightsorg

Twitter feed: http://www.twitter.com/ParentalRights

Squidoo Lens: http://www.squidoo.com/supporting-the-u-s-parental-rights-amendment

RSS Feed: http://www.10and2.org/feed2.xml

Sincerely,

Michael Ramey

Canada's Attempt To Develop A Universal Early Learning and Child Care Program Based On UN CRC

According to Martha Friendly with the Childcare Resource and Research Unit at University of Toronto, as of 2006, Canada still needed to be more dedicated to finding ways to commit to the UN CRC as it relates to early learning and child care. She feels that the sections of the UN CRC relevant to early learning should be followed in the most dedicated ways by the Canadian government. In her opinion, the federal and provincial governments need to regulate all early learning programs in order to provide the elements needed for all children. For children are citizens who and have rights and voices that need to be respected. She feels that Canada needs to develop a system for a universal high quality early learning and child care program.

Ms. Friendly covers the political history of early learning and child care throughout Canada and points out the specific areas of the UN CRC that pertain to it. She includes numerous statistics and a variety of quotes from research that appear to support her argument. From her vantage point, there does not appear to be any negative elements for Canada (and the rest of the world) to fully support the UN CRC when it comes to caring and educating young children.

What if this attitude was acted upon here in the United States? There are already people in powerful political positions who feel that the UN CRC is an ideal and much needed aspect for our lives. Can you imagine the enormous financial impact that a national state-supported child care program could have on us here in our nation? As if we don't have enough on our debt plates as it is. And if the program is federally funded, then we would be required to follow whatever requirements it entailed. That in itself is a very scary thought. Another example of the government knowing how to raise our children better than us, their parents.

(by John Robinson, contributing author)

No Oversight for Judicial Bypass that Allows Adolescent Abortions

Lifenews reported recently on an attempt by Texas Right to Life to close the judicial bypass loophole for pregnant adolescents to easily obtain an abortion. House bill 2555 by Representative Fred Brown (R-College Station) was intended to strengthen parental involvement in adolescent pregnancies through removal of the judicial bypass procedure and strengthening parental notification law. The 82nd Legistlative Session adjourned without acting as key members of the legislature "are not convinced that the state paying for counsel to help minors undergo secret abortions is a problem.

In reading this article, something else jumped out at me besides the failure to pass this legislation. This judicial bypass procedure for adolescent girls to obtain an abortion is "the only court proceeding not reported or tracked by the state's Office of Court Administration (OCA)." Without such tracking, we do not know how many bypasses are sought, denied, nor how are these decisions made? It all happens in a proverbial dark alley with no way to review or study the process and its outcomes. We don't even know the cost which taxpayers are paying for attorneys, fees, etc. Are these bypasses always granted is another question that remains unanswered?

Ultimately, children are moved through a process that impacts their long term emotional, physical, and spiritual well being, yet we have no way of knowing any statistics that would allow us to measure such impact. Somehow, I amsure they they want us to buy the line that this is all done in the "best interest of the child". Sorry, I just don't believe it!

Read the entire story HERE.

Part 27: More of What You Can Do

From there, begin to do what your pastor has always said to not do: GOSSIP. We need you to tell everyone you know about this issue. Only with your voice sharing this alert will we reach our goal. As our numbers build, there will then come a time that we will ask you to call our Senators and your US Representatives. When the Parental Rights Amendment is presented to Congress in the coming 1 to 2 months, we will need people to call and ask their elected congressmen to sign on as a supporter of the amendment.

Those are the basic requests that we have for you, but you may still be asking for more action items. Here are a few more. If you search the net for "parental rights" or "UN Convention on the Rights of the Child" (or just click on the article links that I send), you can leave comments on these sites in support of the amendment. This traffic draws attention to the issue and helps our cause. If you have your own blog, please consider copying one of my posts or write your own piece on the issue. The national organization has memberships on their site which help support the cause and have a store to buy T-shirts, etc. Beyond that, I am looking for speakers, willing to study the issue and take their newfound knowledge out for sharing with different groups across Tennessee. If that strikes your fancy, email me at parentalrightstn@fastmail.net.

Canadian Attacks on Homeschoolers

(by John Robinson, contributing author)

As we know, there are attempts to limit parental rights on a weekly basis. Another example is a Roman Catholic family living in Canada who was recently ordered to enroll their four homeschooled children ages 9, 7, 5 and 3 into public school for "socialization." After being reported to the Youth Protection Services (YPS) for neglect, Judge Nicole Bernier of Quebec, Canada ordered the children to stay in school or a daycare until a plan for socialization was approved by YPS.

Apparently, the judge denied access to a fair trial, one of which lasted four days in November 2010. The judge also refused to address the various studies that show the benefits of homeschooling. Paul Faris, president of the HSLDA of Canada issued a statement saying, "This is a shocking decision. Even more concerning is the judge's decision to order the younger children who were not of compulsory school age into day care for socialization."

To read the entire article, click HERE.

New Zealand: Abortion and Prostitution for Children

(by Nathan Tutor, contributing author)

New Zealand may be a small, fairly unthought of island nation in the South Pacific, but it leads the western world in some of its socialistic principles. Long known and proud of its 'progressive' stance towards society and government, it has a firm grasp on the view that the best way to order culture is to allow the 'individual's' to rule themselves. Unfortunately, the only way to enforce this is to have the government rule over the individual so that they can assure that the individual rules...but I digress.

This article highlights the attempt to give the 'right' to rule their body to girls of almost any age. This 'right' is only valid if, in the eyes of New Zealand parliamentarians, the girls are free from any parental infringement. In the case of an abortion, the girl can get counsel and guidance, and even help, from public school counselors with not only the absence of parental consent, but parental knowledge. You can read the details for yourself but what you do not read, even in this revealing article is that these 'rights' for these girls doesn't extend only to the termination of the pregnancy but also to its conception. You see, in late 2003, while I was living and working in New Zealand, parliament legalized prostitution. They decided that the age for girls to obtain a license for prostitution would be 18 years old, but a loophole actually enforces that any girl under the age of 18 who engages in prostitution cannot be charged - so in effect, there is no illegal age to be a prostitute in New Zealand and no parental consent needed to do it. The prostitution bill was an attempt to increase tourism revenue by requiring licenses and taxes for the prostitution industry. So the abortion bill has been a way to mitigate the 'negative side effects' of prostitution and to limit the burden on the socialized medical system. And to be sure, there are as many politicians in the US who would welcome this kind of 'revenue' as there are in New Zealand. The issue is not about the 'rights of the individual', it is about the way to run a country.

It is up to the parents to look ahead at the agenda of social engineers and understand these issues and stand up for their parental rights.

Part 26: What You Can Do

We have spent many weeks walking through this presentation of our parental rights in jeopardy. I pray that you have reached the point of pleading for a way to contribute to this vital work. If not, go back and reread past posts or email me with your questions or reservations and we can talk. If you are pleading for something you can do, then keep reading below.
You have begun the first step already by learning about this issue. Continue reading more about this so that you can share what you learn with others. My blog will continue to provide news articles and learning opportunities as well as the national website. Next, sign the national petition at www.parentalrights.org. We are striving towards 10000 signatures in each congressional district across America so that we can stand before our congressmen and press them for their support of the amendment. We have somewhere over 7000 for the entire state of Tennessee currently.

Another simple thing is to invite one of our local speakers to one of your groups to share the message with your circle of friends. You provide a meeting place, the invitations, and some listening ears. We will provide the rest.



More Next Edition...

MTHEA Home Education Expo This Weekend

This weekend, May 20th and 21st, Middle Tennessee Home Education Association will be holding its annual Home Education Expo at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds (Click HERE for directions and more information). I will be representing Tennessee Parental Rights at the expo both days by setting up a booth. A handful of you have already volunteered to assist me at the booth by handing out flyers and talking to attendees about the threats we face to our families. I am praying for a few more. This is a great opportunity to alert others to this crucial issue and learn a little about it yourself. There really is not better way to become comfortabe with explaining this issue than talking to several dozen people if not a hundred about the issue. Just read the basics and join us for a few hours either day. I will be there to help with any difficult questions that someone may throw at you. There is absolutely no reason to be afraid.
If you would like to know more about this opportunity, please e-mail parentalrightstn@fastmail.net.


If you just want to learn more, you may also want to attend my seminar workshop about Parental Rights on Friday. Another other opportunity to learn is my seminar on Saturday "Biblical Parenting". I will spend about 30 minutes in teaching from Ephesians 6 and then open the floor for discussion. Please encourage others to attend either or both of these seminars.

Part 25: More Reasons to Support the Parental Rights Amendment

There are several other reasons why "only" the Parental Rights Amendment is sufficient to protect our children. Saying "no" to the UN CRC only postpones the trickle of international law already invading. Many of our nation's leaders already hold to the above described philosophies (that government knows what is best for your children and should impose it on your family), and therefore cannot be trusted in the area. The Parental Rights Amendment sets an enduring boundary of protection like other amendments have done for all future generations. Then we are able to and must stand up for our rights in the legislative and judicial arena with the sure footing of a constitutional right. Ideally we should be able to stand on our God ordained rights, but our government no longer recognizes the Bible as a standard of law and ethics. (We must work to change this also, but until we do so, we must approach parental rights with an amendment). Even the conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonio Scalia says that unwritten rights cannot be protected in the courts when he was discussing parental rights in the 2000 Supreme Court case of Troxel v. Granville. He bases this on a strict, literal interpretation of the constitution. This is in contrast to the "living constitution" theory of interpretation. With our new Supreme Court justices, we are likely in even greater danger. Therefore we have a multitude of reasons to support the Parental Rights Amendment to the US Constitution. We cannot wait until we lost any more influence in our government or it may be too late.

Breathalyzers for Adolescents at School

While many of you don't need another reason to persevere in homeschooling, I want you to be aware of a case of an adolescent's civil liberties being violated in Virginia. This article describes how an adolescent was forced to undergo a breathalyzer test at school when two unidentified students reported that she was drinking alcohol at school. Despite her mother being a school teacher and easily accessible, no one contacted the mother.

This "suspect state" in schools creates opportunities for further civil liberty infringements. Parents must say no to the disregard for these liberties before we lose even more of our freedoms.

Where will your adolescent daughter get abortion advice?

While scanning the internet for parental rights articles, I ran across an article describing a potentially concerning site, MariaTalks. The site itself is centered on an 18yo girl who provides sex related information and calls herself a "sexpert". The article which alerted me to this site was primarily concerned about the advice teens will receive from this site, specifically about abortion. I will provide two excerpts from the site to help you understand the problem this site poses:

"What’s important is how you feel about it {abortion}. One of my friends who had an abortion told me that it was a difficult decision to make, but she felt that it was the best choice she could make for herself, her boyfriend, her family, and her future."

"Can I get an abortion in Massachusetts if I’m under 18?
Ok, I totally know that this information can sound pretty intimidating and overwhelming, but I promise you the reality of getting an abortion is much easier than it sounds here. It may be really hard for you to imagine talking to either your parents or a judge about getting an abortion, but there are people who can help you through it."

Actually, the important thing is not how you feel about abortion. The important thing is whether it is right or wrong. But even by their standard here, they have forgotten how women often feel later. The second excerpt basically aids a teen in obtaining an abortion without parental consent. The existence of these abortion resources, not to mention other information on the site, should cause parents to take notice. We cannot sit back and allow the world to educate our children on sex. We must do the education and prevent them feeling like they need to look elsewhere for more information.

Oh, if this were not enough, the site is run by an AIDS Action Committee, although in my opinion this goes much further than addressing that issue alone. Could I tell you anything more annoying? Yes, the Massachusetts' Department of Public Health is funding this program with a 100,000 dollar grant. Government money spent to promote abortion and sex. Just wonderful !

Part 24: The Final Answer to the UN CRC

Parental Rights.Org believes that we must close the door forever on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child by ratifying the Parental Rights Amendment. Before explaining why we believe this is the best option, please read the amendment itself:

Proposed Parental Rights Amendment

For the US Constitution

SECTION 1
The liberty of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children is a fundamental right.

SECTION 2
Neither the United States nor any state shall infringe upon this right without demonstrating that its governmental interest as applied to the person is of the highest order and not otherwise served.

SECTION 3
No treaty may be adopted nor shall any source of international law be employed to supersede, modify, interpret, or apply to the rights guaranteed by this article.

This amendment is important because it provides explicit constitutional language to protect parental rights from government interference except in rare and extreme circumstances such as abuse and prevents international law such as the UN CRC from taking away those parental rights. The language for sections one and two are taken from two past US Supreme Court cases which ruled in favor of parental rights: Pierce v. Society of Sisters in 1925 and Wisconsin v. Yoder in 1972. Therefore the language was crafted by our own Supreme Court justices in the past and has a long history of legal understanding in the courts.

The amendment establishes parental rights as a fundamental right, the highest standard short of an absolute right which goes too far (an absolute right would protect child abusers from prosecution). It then adds section three which protects American parents from international law both in US courts and International Courts (according to Vienna Convention of Treaties, the highest standard for international law.) This section also protects against the threat of Customary International Law which I described earlier.

Next week, you will learn several more reasons that only the Parental Rights Amendment is an adequate response to the UN CRC and the worldview behind it.

Rejoice in the little victories!

I am learning to thank God Almighty for every little victory and want to share a few with you. First, a showing of the documentary, "The Child", has led to many potentially fruitful blessings. One of those blessings is that a student-mother in the crowd was struck by the message and is intent on sharing her newfound wisdom with others. Another is that a new friend was made, a new friend who now shares this same passion for parenting that we do.

Second, from that new friendship, others will have the opportunity to see the documentary and hear the story as he shows "The Child" at his church next week.

Third, a number of parental rights defenders in west Tennessee took a first step towards our state's approval of the Parental Rights Amendment. They presented a resolution to a city commission in support of the amendment and argued it through to approval. This resolution sends the message to our state legislators that Tennesseans support the amendment and want their legislators to do so as well. May this movement spread throughout the country.

Thank you Father for your encouragement by way of these blessings above. May I never forget neither your goodness nor your command to raise children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.



Amen