No Privacy for Parents

Liberals love the so-called right to privacy. They discovered it decades ago somewhere in the “penumbras” of our Constitution. This ever-expanding right to privacy provides them with legal cover to support everything from abortion on demand to homosexual behavior. But somehow this right to privacy stops at the front door of parents who want to control how and when they discuss the birds and the bees.

Let me explain. Parents of elementary-age children in Palmdale, California, recently took school officials to court. The parents had discovered that district officials had administered a sex survey of their kids without their knowledge or consent. Before you assume these parents were a bunch of up-tight prudes, here are some of the questions their 7- to 10-year-olds were asked. The kids were told to reveal how often they experienced the thought or emotion:

“Touching my private parts too much.”

“Thinking about having sex.”

“Thinking about touching other people's private parts.”

“Not trusting people because they might want sex.”

“Getting scared or upset when I think about sex.”

“Having sex feelings in my body.”

“Can't stop thinking about sex.”

“Getting upset when people talk about sex.”

As the father of three youngsters, I think this survey reveals more about the fixations of the adults who designed and administered it than the kids who were forced to take it.

Many school districts, of course, have “opt-out” provisions when controversial subjects are taught, allowing parents to decide how children should be exposed to certain ideas. The height of tolerance, right? Not in California, apparently.

In November, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the Palmdale case that parents do not have the final say in sex education. (This is the same court, mind you, that ruled that the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance are unconstitutional.) Judge Stephen Reinhardt ruled: "There is no fundamental right of parents to be the exclusive provider of information regarding sexual matters to their children." Reinhardt also wrote that "parents have no due process or privacy right to override the determinations of public schools. . . ."

No one denies that the state has a role in helping to shape the characters of our children, and that there are still many excellent public schools. But in this ruling, the Ninth Circuit Court is trying to usurp the God-given responsibility of parents to raise their children according to the dictates of conscience and religious belief.

If this ruling stands, don’t be surprised if more and more Christian parents choose to “opt out” of public education altogether. At least those who can afford to.