HENRICO COUNTY -
Nearly the entire student body at Douglas Freeman High School attended a lecture Tuesday on abstinence.
It's a topic that generated considerable controversy among groups and teachers concerned about religious ideology and misinformation.
Speaker Pam Stenzel, who addresses hundreds of high schoolers across the country on abstaining from sex outside of marriage, declined to speak with CBS 6.
On her web site biography at Enlighten Communications, however, Stenzel attributes her motivation to "personal experience" and the need to provide a platform for reaching vulnerable adolescents.
The decision to bring in Stenzel for a lecture ultimately fell under the domain of the school's principal, Anne Poates.
Henrico School Spokesman Mychael Dickerson remarked Tuesday, "There are no political left or right wing issues here, in terms of what the school system is doing. There was a speaker presented to the principal and she made the decision based on that speaker."
Parents were notified well in advance of the lecture and had the option to remove their children from the presentation if they wanted.
Of the 1800 students at Freeman, only 10 opted out.
Parents who spoke with CBS 6 appreciated the courtesy the school afforded them.
Students, however, seemed split on the appropriateness of the subject.
Freeman Senior Philip Wood says he could have used the information in his own life- had he received it earlier.
"I made some wrong choices in my life and some good choices," reflected Wood. "But I see where I am today, and I have a son now."
Others worried that some of the talking points were inaccurate. Senior Mozetta Cook questioned the idea that condoms and birth control do not work.
That was a point of contention for groups like Naral Pro-Choice of Virgina. The organization wrote a letter to Principal Poates requesting the assembly be canceled.
Executive Director Tarina Keene explained to CBS 6 the discussion needed to be framed in the proper context.
Addressing abstinence without a further examination of the efficacy of condoms and birth control, Keene said, does not provide students with the information they need.
It's a topic that generated considerable controversy among groups and teachers concerned about religious ideology and misinformation.
Speaker Pam Stenzel, who addresses hundreds of high schoolers across the country on abstaining from sex outside of marriage, declined to speak with CBS 6.
On her web site biography at Enlighten Communications, however, Stenzel attributes her motivation to "personal experience" and the need to provide a platform for reaching vulnerable adolescents.
The decision to bring in Stenzel for a lecture ultimately fell under the domain of the school's principal, Anne Poates.
Henrico School Spokesman Mychael Dickerson remarked Tuesday, "There are no political left or right wing issues here, in terms of what the school system is doing. There was a speaker presented to the principal and she made the decision based on that speaker."
Parents were notified well in advance of the lecture and had the option to remove their children from the presentation if they wanted.
Of the 1800 students at Freeman, only 10 opted out.
Parents who spoke with CBS 6 appreciated the courtesy the school afforded them.
Students, however, seemed split on the appropriateness of the subject.
Freeman Senior Philip Wood says he could have used the information in his own life- had he received it earlier.
"I made some wrong choices in my life and some good choices," reflected Wood. "But I see where I am today, and I have a son now."
Others worried that some of the talking points were inaccurate. Senior Mozetta Cook questioned the idea that condoms and birth control do not work.
That was a point of contention for groups like Naral Pro-Choice of Virgina. The organization wrote a letter to Principal Poates requesting the assembly be canceled.
Executive Director Tarina Keene explained to CBS 6 the discussion needed to be framed in the proper context.
Addressing abstinence without a further examination of the efficacy of condoms and birth control, Keene said, does not provide students with the information they need.
