The Duggar kids have all been homeschooled, and now we’re getting a sense of what health class was like on the compound.
Not surprisingly, it seems Jim Bob and Michelle weren’t above using scare tactics when it came to dissuading their children from engaging in premarital sex.
The Duggar courtship rules are notorious for strictly prohibiting virtually all forms of physical contact before marriage.
The threat of eternal damnation is the primary deterrent that causes unmarried Duggar couples to stick to hand-holding and side-hugs.
But it seems that in order to make doubly sure that they’re able to resist temptation, the family also frightens hormonal young people with more earthly dangers.
In Touch Weekly has unearthed an excerpt from the 2014 memoir Growing Up Duggar, in which Jana, Jill, Jessa and Jinger talk fearfully of the sexually transmitted diseases that await those who are unable to hold off until marriage:
“God has created physical intimacy to be a wonderful wedding gift for pleasure and bonding and to procreate children, but if it is done prematurely or with multiple partners, the very thing that was created to bring joy can bring sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV, herpes, and human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause infertility, cervical cancer, and a life sentence of pain and suffering,” the girls write.
“HPV is just one of many sexually transmitted viruses, but it has recently become a notorious killer of women. According to the National Cancer Institute, ‘Virtually all cervical cancers are caused by HPV infections,"” the excerpt continued.
“The American Cancer Society estimates that 4,030 women will die from cervical cancer this year. STDs like HPV also carry a high risk of being passed on to loved ones, including the woman’s husband or her children,” the Duggars added, just in case your genitals were not yet sufficiently terrified.
Of course, it’s possible to have safe premarital sex, but don’t tell that to the Duggar gals, who seem to have pretty much made up their minds that it results in instant death.
The emphasis on HPV is particularly strange, as while the disease is fairly common, in most cases, it doesn’t result in any symptoms:
“In most cases, HPV goes away on its own and does not cause any health problems,” the CDC states.
Really, the need to convince young fans of the physical dangers of premarital sex is strange, as anyone reading a Duggar bio is probably pretty all-in on all that “after-life” and “vengeful God” business.
Just assuring them they’ll burn in hell is probably sufficient when it comes to scaring them into keeping their knees together.
But hey, maybe the Duggars believe that frightening people away from premarital sex is a lot like premarital sex itself – you can never be too safe.
Anyway, we suppose the method has proven effective.
While there may have been some “shotgun wedding” rumors about Joy-Anna, it seems the Duggar women have thus far all abstained from sex before marriage.
The Duggar men, on the other hand … well, that’s a different story.
Watch Counting On online for more from reality TV’s most controversial family.
