The New York Times had two important editorials in the past three days dealing with important issues of sex and policy.

Today's took up the case, again, of Genarlow Wilson, the young man in Georgia who is still serving time in prison for the consensual oral sex he had when he was 17 with a girl who was two years younger. Specifically, the Times chastises the DA in the case for continuing to focus on the rape that occured at that party (of which Wilson was acquitted) and even circulating the video tape that was made of the rape, as part of his lobbying effort against Genarlow Wilson's release.

And this past Saturday, the Times called on Congress to drop the "abstinence only" and encourage teaching about abstinence to be a part of a comprehensive sex education program. This after a major study, mandated by Congress, of four abstinence only programs implemented in middle schools showed absolutely no impact on the choices that subjects made about whether and when to engage in sex. Saturday's editorial mentions that at least 9 states have given up the federal matching grants because they could not, in good conscience, bring themselves to "forbid the promotion of contraceptive use and require teaching that sex outside marriage is likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects" which is what the federal program requires.

...because public space really matters!

Elizabeth