Federal government's abstinece message: not just for kids anymore
Howie
The federal government's "no sex without marriage" message isn't just
for kids anymore.
Now the government is targeting unmarried adults up to age 29 as part
of its abstinence-only programs, which include millions of dollars in
federal money that will be available to the states under revised
federal grant guidelines for 2007.
The government says the change is a clarification. But critics say it's
a clear signal of a more directed policy targeting the sexual behavior
of adults.
"They've stepped over the line of common sense," said James Wagoner,
president of Advocates for Youth, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit
that supports sex education. "To be preaching abstinence when 90% of
people are having sex is in essence to lose touch with reality. It's an
ideological campaign. It has nothing to do with public health."
Abstinence education programs, which have focused on preteens and
teens, teach that abstaining from sex is the only effective or
acceptable method to prevent pregnancy or disease. They give no
instruction on birth control or safe sex.
The National Center for Health Statistics says well over 90% of adults
ages 20-29 have had sexual intercourse.
But Wade Horn, assistant secretary for children and families at the
Department of Health and Human Services, said the revision is aimed at
19- to 29-year-olds because more unmarried women in that age group are
having children.
Government data released last month show that 998,262 births in 2004
were to unmarried women 19-29, the ages with the most births to
unmarried women.
"The message is 'It's better to wait until you're married to bear or
father children,' " Horn said. "The only 100% effective way of getting
there is abstinence."
The revised guidelines specify that states seeking grants are "to
identify groups ... most likely to bear children out-of-wedlock,
targeting adolescents and/or adults within the 12- through 29-year-old
age range." Previous guidelines didn't mention targeting of an age
group.
"We wanted to remind states they could use these funds not only to
target adolescents," Horn said. "It's a reminder."
Last year, 46 states applied for the federal abstinence-education
money, to fund programs in schools, neighborhood clubs and faith-based
organizations.
Sarah Brown, director of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen
Pregnancy, says abstinence programs are among many messages that have
helped reduce teen pregnancy rates. But "the notion that the federal
government is supporting millions of dollars worth of messages to
people who are grown adults about how to conduct their sex life is a
very divisive policy," she says.
"We would oppose any program that stigmatizes unmarried people," adds
Nicky Grist, executive director of the Alternatives to Marriage
Project, a non-profit organization based in Brooklyn, N.Y., that
advocates for the rights of unmarried people.
For last year's state grants, Congress appropriated $50 million. A
similar amount is expected for 2007, but the money has not yet been
allocated, according to the Administration for Children and Families.
"I think the program should talk about the problem with out-of- wedlock
childbearing - not about your sex life," Brown says. "If you use
contraception effectively and consistently, you will not be in the pool
of out-of-wedlock births."
Yaoi Huntress Earth
counts as abortion) with the Cathlolics and now this crap. This
reminds me of one of the greatest songs ever, "Keep Your Jesus Off My
Penis":
http://www.atomfilms.com/landing/landingIndex.jsp?id=jesus_off&mature=accept
The Rat
Howie wrote:
> http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-10-30-abstinence-message_x.htm
>
> The federal government's "no sex without marriage" message isn't just
> for kids anymore.
> Now the government is targeting unmarried adults up to age 29 as part
> of its abstinence-only programs, which include millions of dollars in
> federal money that will be available to the states under revised
> federal grant guidelines for 2007.
I can go for that. You see, the only ones who would actually obey such
a guideline would be the ultra-stupid dumbass fundies fuckwads, which
means that they wouldn't be having children until they are over the age
of 30. This brings an increased risk of things like Down's syndrome, so
maybe they will breed themselves out of existence.