Since I am unable to fly over to Oahu and testify in person at the House committee hearings; I am writing to our newspaper to respond to a question that was asked by North Kona Rep. Nicole Lowen. Since I
Since I am unable to fly over to Oahu and testify in person at the House committee hearings; I am writing to our newspaper to respond to a question that was asked by North Kona Rep. Nicole Lowen.
Lowen asked one of the testifiers something to the effect of “Why are you so worried about how Senate Bill 1 will affect our schools?”
The testifier did not refer to problems in Hawaii but mentioned there are problems in other states. With all due respect, I’m guessing Lowen is not aware of the fiasco that occurred at Konawaena High School as I recall in 1995-96.
Please allow me to explain. Because Konawaena High School had a high rate of pregnancy, school officials thought it was a good idea to implement an on campus student “Help Center” without the need of open parental participation. The Help Center was a pilot program that had the consent of the principal, the blessing of the Department of Education, the support of the Department of Health and seed money from The Johnson & Johnson Co.
Students could access the Help Center during school hours to get counseling and referrals to outside agencies for services that parents did not know about.
Once the word got out, parents demanded more information. I was one of those parents and as we asked questions and looked deeper into the program, we unraveled an agenda full of lies, intimidation and deceit. It was discovered that during school hours, students were being shuttled off school property in vans down to a health clinic a few blocks away to receive services, which included pap smears, birth control and abortion counseling. A TV news crew flew here to cover this story, which included an interview with a student who confirmed she was given services through the Help Center without her parents’ knowledge or consent.
Parents’ lives were put on hold to take on this battle. But, never underestimate the strength of a mother. The program was stopped. Respectfully, Lowen, this is what parents are worried about; parents’ rights being ignored and taken away. Konawaena High School with the support from the DOH and DOE provided controversial services that they decided were justified. Just as, in my opinion, the DOE will provide curriculum and teaching to our children to accept the gay lifestyle as normal if same-sex marriage is passed.
I believe the House committee is trying to be fair and feel compelled to defend the minority. However, in this case, it is the majority being bullied to accept same-sex marriage and everything seen and unseen that will go along with it.
C. Moore is a resident of Kailua-Kona.
Viewpoint articles are the opinion of the writer and not necessarily the opinion of West Hawaii Today.
