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ST. CHARLES, MO, May 8, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Parents in Missouri are outraged at school district officials for allowing an e-book with images of people engaging in sexual intercourse in school libraries.

Francis Howell School District is facing a backlash for placing “It's Perfectly Normal,” a book that includes images of naked people, intercourse, and other pornographic material, in its libraries. One parent told a local reporter that most parents “were shocked” when he “showed this to” them, and that “their next reaction was outrage.”

The Amazon.com description of the book says that it “is a cutting-edge resource for kids, parents, teachers … and anyone else who cares about the well-being of tweens and teens.” It is also promoted as “providing accurate and up-to-date answers to nearly every imaginable question, from conception and puberty to birth control and AIDS.” A partial PDF of the book can be seen here.

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Several positive reviews on Amazon note that the book discusses homosexuality and masturbation, with one person noting that “they talk about homosexuality before they even talk about puberty.” Another review states, “It explains many subjects besides just the mechanics of puberty, such as masturbation and homosexuality. If you intend to teach your children that such topics are shameful, this may not be the book for you.”

The PDF includes descriptions of different sex acts and promotion of abortion.

According to Phillip Cosby, state director of the American Family Association of Kansas and Missouri, “it is encouraging that 400 adults in Missouri are willing to take a stand for decency and suffer the insults for the sake of the children in a day of so much indifference.”

“This booklet, endorsed by Planned Parenthood, is another example of over the top obscenity and child porn that schools recklessly expose ever-younger audiences, destroying innocence and modesty,” Cosby told LifeSiteNews. “This booklet is beyond bad taste and offensive; it is pornographic and harmful to children. The words, acts and graphic pictures would be unlawful if anyone else distributed them to children.”

“Nowhere in this book is the virtue of chastity and fidelity to a spouse celebrated as perfectly normal,” concluded Cosby. 

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Family Research Council Senior Fellow for Policy Studies Peter Sprigg was similarly critical of “It's Perfectly Normal.” According to Sprigg, “parents are justified in being concerned about a school making the book available to their children. Even the title itself communicates a sort of moral relativism regarding sex, which is undoubtedly in conflict with what most parents want to teach their children on the subject.”

“The book's cover says it is for ages 10 and up,” says Sprigg, “but the simple language and cartoon images make it appear to be written for even younger ages. Passages touting the glories of homosexuality in ancient Sparta and images of men and women having sex are hardly what most parents want their children exposed to–especially at school.”

One glowing review of “It's Perfectly Normal” describes the book as “strangely [saying] very little about virginity, and the word does not appear in the index.” The review also notes that “while the text does not really discuss this, it does explain that abstinence or postponement are options for couples and it explains the importance of avoiding sexually transmitted diseases as well as staying in control of any sexual situation to avoid rape or abuse.”

Heritage Foundation Policy Analyst Rachel Sheffield said that “it is important for teens to understand the importance of abstinence,” telling LifeSiteNews that “abstinence is the best choice for teens.”

Sheffield described numerous benefits of abstinence for young people, noting that “teens who remain abstinent are less likely to experience depression, to contract STDs, or to have children outside of marriage. They do better in school and are more likely to graduate from high school as well.”

A parent of one middle-schooler at Francis Howell has formally complained to the school district in order to have the book taken off the shelves. The district responded by noting that “it was determined to keep the ebook available as a resource for check-out in the library. If a parent determines that he/she does not want to their child to have access to certain materials, we honor that request.”

One parent was quoted as supporting the book's presence. June Tiller told a local reporter, “I feel like if the school teaches them this, and they have this information available, it's very important, and it will help keep them safe.”