Regulating Family Planning
 A
legislative committee charged with setting the budget for state
agencies approved language to hold family planning agencies to
a higher standard if they receive state and federal funding. Under
the measure, the Department of Community Health will need to take
steps to get parents more involved in family planning decisions
by minors, get more men to take responsibility for their sexual
activity, and take steps to ensure that family planning efforts
do not promote sexual activity outside of marriage.
The measure also requires the state to track publicly
funded medical expenditures for sexually transmitted disease treatments
and pregnancy among individuals who are unmarried but sexually
active. Finally, the measure provides greater protection to ensure
that state funding does not support abortion referrals or counseling.
Stay tuned to Forum Online for more details as this measure works
its way through the Legislature.
".xxx" Domain
Not All Its Cracked Up to Be
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN),
the agency responsible for assigning Internet domains, recently
announced plans to go ahead with a ".xxx" extension
for pornographic adult websites. The problem is that the agency
is merely making the domain available instead of requiring porn
providers to use it.
"ICANN's decision had the potential to really
protect kids from accessing hardcore pornography, but instead
it just means another money-making opportunity for the multi-billion
dollar Internet porn business," said MFF Executive Director
Brad Snavely. If all pornographic sites were required to use the
extension, it would make filtering software much more effective.
Without the requirement, however, sites using traditional ".com"
or ".net" designations can still be bypassed by the
filtering software.
For more information, including a helpful pamphlet
from FRC entitled "Dealing with Pornography: A Practical
Guide For Protecting Your Family and Your Community," click
here. To download MFF's Internet Safety Guide, click
here.
MFF-Initiated Sex Ed Law
Impacts Saginaw Schools
 The
Human Sexuality Advisory Board of Saginaw Public Schools has recommended
changing the district's curriculum to an abstinence-only program
known as "Sex Can Wait." The committee, comprised of
parents, teachers, administrators and students decided to recommend
the change for the upcoming school year.
"This is the type of outcome we expected with
passage of the new sex ed law last year," said MFF Executive
Director Brad Snavely. "Giving parents a voice in the process
helps ensure that students will learn about human sexuality in
a manner consistent with their community's values."
MFF published a resource shortly after the law
took effect entitled "Sex Education: Rights and Responsibilities
in Michigan Law." More than 6,000 booklets have been sent
out to school districts across the state, and requests for more
continue to arrive at MFF's office in Lansing. The booklet is
available at our website as well. Click
here to download a copy. For bulk quanities, contact MFF at
(517) 374-1171. For more information about the changes in Saginaw,
click
here.
Kentucky Marriage Amendment
Survives Court Challenge
 A
Kentucky Circuit Court judge has ruled the state’s constitutional
amendment defining marriage as the union of “one man and
one woman” does not violate the Kentucky Constitution.
Kentucky’s amendment reads, “Only a
marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized
as a marriage in Kentucky. A legal status identical or substantially
similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not
be valid or recognized.”
Challengers of the amendment, which three out of four Kentucky
voters approved on Nov. 2 of last year, claimed that the court
should invalidate it because it addressed more than a single subject.
The presiding judge disagreed and let the amendment stand. Alliance
Defense Fund attorneys served as legal counsel for the defense.
For more information, click
here
Thank You for Your Support
 Michigan
Family Forum would like to thank all Forum Online readers who
responded to our recent "print" newsletter mailing with
a gift of support. MFF is a 501c3 non-profit organization that
relies entirely on charitable donations for its funding.
"We're excited about what the future holds,"
says MFF Executive Director Brad Snavely. "We're continuing
to build on the momentum gained in the last legislative session
and anticipate progress with several of our goals this year. We
could not do it without our faithful supporters."
For more information about how you can help support
Michigan Family Forum, click
here.
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