Bush Wants to Double Spending on School Abstinence Programs
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February 13, 2004
WHITE HOUSE (AP) -- The Bush administration wants to double spending on school sex-education programs that teach abstinence, with no discussion about birth control or condoms.
The proposal comes despite a lack of evidence that such programs work. There is even specific evidence that they don't work.
An independent study commissioned by the Minnesota health department has found that sexual activity doubled among junior high school students who took part in an abstinence-only program.
And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says declining birth and pregnancy rates among teenagers during the past decade are attributable to both abstinence and contraception.
A person who helped write the administration's abstinence education program says the Minnesota study is unscientific and says the CDC didn't give enough credit to abstinence.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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