Obama plan to cut abstinence ed funding ignores ‘significant success,’ defenders say

Washington D.C., May 9, 2009 / 18:44 pm

President Barack Obama’s 2010 budget plan proposes to defund abstinence-only sex education initiatives, prompting defenders of the programs to say the plan ignores their "significant success."

The state grant program for abstinence education that is proposed for elimination will receive $38 million in 2009, Fox News reports.

Administration budget documents say the President wants to redirect funding from abstinence-only education programs to "evidence-based and promising teen pregnancy prevention programs."

The budget plan claims the most positive results come from programs that "provide a range of services in addition to comprehensive sex education."

A Thursday press release from the National Abstinence Education Association (NAEA) charged that the proposal "disregards the growing body of evidence supporting the effectiveness of abstinence education." The NAEA claimed research shows a 50 percent decrease in "sexual onset" among teens enrolled in abstinence programs.

Its "Abstinence Works 2009" report cites 40 studies showing "significant success" or "positive behavioral change" among the young.

"At a time when teens are subjected to an increasingly sexualized culture, it is essential that common-sense legislators from both sides of the aisle reject this extreme attempt to defund the only approach that removes all risk. Members of Congress would be well advised to listen to youth and parents in their districts who overwhelmingly support these valuable programs," said Valerie Huber, executive director of the NAEA.