People with Academic Degrees in Health

According to the Tennessee everyman, U.S. Representative John Duncan, people with academic degrees in health are "rather elitist." How does an academic degree in health make a person an elitist, you ask? Well, it prompts them to present a report to Congress suggesting that abstinence-only curriculum could be a waste of federal funds because research suggests it does not decrease STIs or pregnancy. What's elitist about that? Why, it means that they "think they know better than parents what type of sex education is appropriate."

A recent, but controversial poll by Zogby commissioned by conservative think tank Focus on the Family suggests that a majority parents do respond to abstinence until marriage as an ideal, and support it's inclusion in sexuality education.

However, I would like to offer an argument about how expecting abstinence only until marriage could be an elitist ideal in its own right. Expecting adults to remain abstinence until marriage disregards gender and class inequalities that makes marriage unattainable for many people for much of their early adult life.

I don't want to even get started on the elitist ideal that marriage is inherently safe, especially for young adults, especially women.

I'd love to hear what you think.

Sources:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/abstinence_usa_dc;_ylt=Aqu8Fq4GxAJz1vB0c1N43oes0NUE