CattleArmy
Well-known member
Abstinence Only Program Moving Toward Renewal
Posted: June 20, 2008 - 1:00 pm ET
(Washington) Despite a growing body of evidence showing it is not only ineffective but also discriminatory toward LGBT youth a renewal of the Bush administration's abstinence-only-until-marriage program for schools appears likely in Congress.
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies has voted to continue funding the Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) program.
The federal government now spends about $176 million annually on abstinence-until-marriage education.
“It’s hard to imagine a good reason why, in these tight economic times, Congress would intentionally flush taxpayer dollars down the drain by spending them on disproven, ineffective abstinence-only-until-marriage programs," said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:
"We are floored that they continue to ignore study after study, and the consensus of the pubic health community, all concluding that these programs censor vital health care information, teach gender stereotypes, discriminate against lesbian and gay teens, and in some cases promote religion in the classroom in violation of the Constitution."
A study mandated by Congress last year found that students who participated in sexual abstinence programs were just as likely to have sex within a few years as those who did not.
The study, by Mathematica Policy Research, also found that students who attended the abstinence classes reported having similar numbers of sexual partners as those who did not attend the classes, and they first had sex at about the same age as their control group counterparts - 14 years and nine months.
A report a year earlier by the Society of Adolescent Medicine found that abstinence-only education was "unlikely to meet the health needs" of gay because abstinence-only programs focus heavily on no sex until marriage and ignore homosexuality. This could lead to increased risk of infection among these youngsters, the investigators said.
Under the CBAE program participating states then provide $3 for every $4 they get from the federal government. But a growing number states decline to take part in the grant program.
The most recent was Arizona. In January Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) told the Bush administration that the state does not want $1 million from the federal government because the programs don't work.
The move makes Arizona the 16th state to reject the federal money.
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In my opinion the money could be better spent developing safe sex programs. If the kids are gonna do it and the statics show they are they might as well be prepared and be safe.
Posted: June 20, 2008 - 1:00 pm ET
(Washington) Despite a growing body of evidence showing it is not only ineffective but also discriminatory toward LGBT youth a renewal of the Bush administration's abstinence-only-until-marriage program for schools appears likely in Congress.
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies has voted to continue funding the Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) program.
The federal government now spends about $176 million annually on abstinence-until-marriage education.
“It’s hard to imagine a good reason why, in these tight economic times, Congress would intentionally flush taxpayer dollars down the drain by spending them on disproven, ineffective abstinence-only-until-marriage programs," said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:
"We are floored that they continue to ignore study after study, and the consensus of the pubic health community, all concluding that these programs censor vital health care information, teach gender stereotypes, discriminate against lesbian and gay teens, and in some cases promote religion in the classroom in violation of the Constitution."
A study mandated by Congress last year found that students who participated in sexual abstinence programs were just as likely to have sex within a few years as those who did not.
The study, by Mathematica Policy Research, also found that students who attended the abstinence classes reported having similar numbers of sexual partners as those who did not attend the classes, and they first had sex at about the same age as their control group counterparts - 14 years and nine months.
A report a year earlier by the Society of Adolescent Medicine found that abstinence-only education was "unlikely to meet the health needs" of gay because abstinence-only programs focus heavily on no sex until marriage and ignore homosexuality. This could lead to increased risk of infection among these youngsters, the investigators said.
Under the CBAE program participating states then provide $3 for every $4 they get from the federal government. But a growing number states decline to take part in the grant program.
The most recent was Arizona. In January Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) told the Bush administration that the state does not want $1 million from the federal government because the programs don't work.
The move makes Arizona the 16th state to reject the federal money.
****************************************************
In my opinion the money could be better spent developing safe sex programs. If the kids are gonna do it and the statics show they are they might as well be prepared and be safe.