MFF Launches "Choose Freedom" Abstinence Initiative
 Michigan Family Forum is launching a new peer education initiative to help teens share the abstinence message with their friends and schoolmates. "Choose Freedom" is a program that will train teens to effectively communicate the message of sexual purity and abstinence until marriage using video, drama and other multimedia techniques.
MFF hosted a breakfast for Lansing-area youth pastors on December 6. MFF's Stefan Hull, who is coordinating the program, outlined the program's vision and plan of action. Several of the pastors gathered expressed interest in having MFF train their youth to spread the abstinence message in their churches and schools.
To find out more about the "Choose Freedom" abstinence initiative, contact Stefan Hull at (517) 374-1171, ext. 102, or via email, info@michiganfamily.org.
Pre-marital Sexual Activity Linked to Depression in Teens
 A recent commentary discusses the details of a study that found teens who engaged in pre-marital sexual activity often battle depression afterwards as a result. The research findings surprised many who had long accepted that sexual activity and drug abuse was more common among teens already diagnosed with depression.
Instead, the study found that depression often followed the risky behavior. Denise Hallfors, the lead author of the study, has said that her research team found evidence that heavy drug and alcohol use significantly increased the likelihood of depression among boys. For girls, the findings are stunning: Even low levels of alcohol, drug or sexual experimentation increased the probability of depression for girls.
To read more about this story, click here. The study results are available for a fee from the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Contact Jon Stanton at info@michiganfamily.org if you would like directions on how to obtain a copy online.
Raising the "Age of Consent"
 Current Michigan law allows for "consensual sex" when a person is 16 years old. Michigan Family Forum and a host of other organizations dedicated to protecting children believe that age should be raised to at least 18. After all, if we require someone to be 18 years old to vote, why allow them consent to have sex when they are only 16?
According to a policy brief authored by MFF's Dan Jarvis, "...tying the age of consent to the age of marriage will put sexual intercourse in its proper context rather than establishing an arbitrary age, as if marriage and sexual relations are unrelated."
Recent headlines also draw attention to the need for a higher age of consent. In recent months, several teachers have been prosecuted for engaging in sexual activity with their teenage students. In most cases, statutory rape laws still applied, but some teachers were able to negotiate a plea bargain often using "age of consent" laws as part of their argument.
Nationally syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker recently authored a commentary about this issue. Click here to view it. Click here to view MFF's Policy Brief, "Sweet 16."
Quote of the Week
"Tragically, government spends hundreds of billions of dollars each year to pick up the pieces when marriage fails, yet does virtually nothing to preserve or strengthen marriage. The healthy marriage initiative represents a bold departure from this pattern of failed policy."
-Senator Rick Santorum (author) and several other senators (signatories) in a letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley to preserve funding for the President's Healthy Marriage Initiative.
New York Preserves Marriage
 A court in New York state recently rejected a challenge to the state's marriage law brought by five same-sex couples. The panel ruled 4-1 that a lower court decision that redefined marriage to include same-sex couples was not lawful and stated that the law clearly "sets up heterosexual marriage as the cultural, social and legal ideal."
Supporters of traditional marriage lauded the ruling, which also stated that "a sudden change in the marriage laws or the statutory benefits traditionally incidental to marriage may have disruptive and unforeseen consequences." They were also pleased with the court's affirmation that redefining marriage is the job of legislators, not judges.
To read more about the New York ruling, click here.
On behalf of the Michigan Family Forum staff, we wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! The next issue of Forum Online will be published on December 29.
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