In a culture that is seemingly saturated with sex and violence &045; from the music to which we we listen to the movies and television shows to which we are subjected &045; it is difficult to accept that the issues of abortion and premarital sex are still considered taboo in many segments of our society today.

Many of our young people, especially, live in ignorance of even the basic facts concerning these two fundatmental issues.

So it is refreshing to learn that an organization such as the Selma-Dallas County Save-A-Life Inc. has accepted the challenge of shedding light on areas which have been allowed to exist in semi-darkness for far too long.

Last month, Save-A-Life held a Silent No More campaign in Selma to openly talk about the emotional scars that can result from having an abortion.

Another program being offered by Save-A-Life is Sex and Family Education, or S.A.F.E. The program teaches abstinenece-only sex education to children in elementary through high school. Participants discuss the physical and emotional consequences of having sex outside of marriage.

Program coordinator Marion Frasier explains, &uot;We show them what can happen, like getting pregnant or contracting a disease. We teach them how to say ‘no,’ as well as how to start over if they have already had sex.&uot;

These are tough issues to tackle, and Save-A-Life is to be commended for meeting them head-on and providing our community with much-needed tools to alleviate the pain and consequences that can result from ignorance.