Democrats say they will end abstinence-only funding
By Philip Turner - Religion News Service
Friday, May 18, 2007 - Web Link
This is tragic news for those who wear the abstinence bracelets...McChurch continues to insist that self-discipline is all we need to live the chaste life – with a little grace thrown in, of course…And, a little TV (4-6 hours a day of sexual imagery), and a little porn on the Net, and a little public school time (7 hours a day, 5 days a week, with the exception of a little prayer time), and a little “keeping up with the Joneses.”
Abstinence teaching doesn’t work, huh? I wonder if our children are too distracted?
And the Democrats? They want to reduce abortions by offering unlimited choice with no consequences...Denial is a wonderful thing, is it not?
Stan Moody is the author of "Crisis in Evangelical Scholarship" and "McChurched: 300 Million Served and Still Hungry
"As the House works to eliminate abstinence funding, their solution is simple — provide more pills that prevent and abort pregnancies," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.
Perkins, in an e-mail to supporters, said Democrats are pushing a "radical agenda that few voters expected — or supported — when they propelled the Democrats to power."
Democrats would still include money for abstinence teachings in schools, but would combine it with comprehensive sex-ed programs that would teach about birth control and other safe sex methods.
States currently pay for abstinence-only education in public schools by matching $3 for every $4 they receive from the federal government.
STUDY: Abstinence classes don't stop sex
Congress initially approved the Title V funding as part of welfare reform.
Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said Wednesday that the decision to stop funding for the program wasn't difficult at all.
"Abstinence-only education seems to be a colossal failure," Dingell said, according to the Associated Press.
Dingell backed that statement with a recent study by Mathematica Policy Research Inc. that showed students in four abstinence-only education programs were equally likely to have sex at the same age as those not in abstinence programs.
"With all we know about how to prevent teen pregnancy and reduce sexually transmitted diseases, it is high time to redirect the millions of federal dollars that we squander every year on abstinence-only education to programs that actually work," said Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., according to the AP.
Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association, said cutting Title V funding would rally supporters of abstinence education.
"It's a public health message that offers risk elimination for youth," she told the AP. "It's also consistent with what parents across America want for their youth."
A recent Zogby International Poll of 1,002 parents with children ages 10 to 16 found that 83% of them want their children to wait to have sex until they are married.
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