2010-04-24

Why Are We Still Funding Abstinence-Only Sex Ed?

AlterNet

With its absence from the president's budget, you might have thought "Just Say No" sex ed was dead -- but the health-care bill gave it new life.

Since 1992, the federal government has spent close to $1 billion on abstinence-only sex education, despite growing evidence that these ideology-based programs are ineffective in delaying the onset of sexual activity, preventing teen pregnancy and the spread of sexually-transmitted disease among teens. Meanwhile, comprehensive sex education -- the kind where teens are given information about both abstinence and contraceptives -- has received virtually no federal funding.

That's why it was so encouraging when President Obama released his budget earlier this year and the $50 million per year since 1996 that's been devoted to abstinence-only programs was missing. It looked like this ill-conceived emphasis on "Just Say No" sex education had finally ended.

Except it hasn't. It turns out that Senator Orrin Hatch attached $50 million a year for five years into the health care bill; it made the cut to the final version, and funding for abstinence-only sex education has been reborn. It's not clear why the funding stayed in the final legislation -- reports are that it was used as a sweetener to score the votes of socially-conservative Democrats -- but now $250 million is once again available for states that agree to offer only the most restrictive no-sex-before-marriage curriculum.

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