Health bill restores $250 million in abstinence-education funds

[Freddie Stubbs]

Source: Washington Post

A little-noticed provision of the health legislation has rescued federal support for a controversial form of sex education: teaching youths to remain virgins until marriage.

The bill restores $250 million over five years for states to sponsor programs aimed at preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases by focusing exclusively on encouraging children and adolescents to avoid sex. The funding provides at least a partial reprieve for the approach, which faced losing all federal support under President Obama's first two budgets.

"We're very happy to see that funding will continue so the important sexual health message of risk avoidance will reach American teens," said Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association, a Washington-based lobbying group. "What better place to see such an important health issue addressed than in the health legislation?"

But the funding was condemned by critics, who were stupefied by the eleventh-hour rescue.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/26/AR2010032602457.html?hpid=topnews

[BlueIris]

1. Abstinence education doesn't work. I'm embarrassed for anyone who believes that.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1423677120070414

[Happyhippychick]

10. Of course it works! Just ask Sarah Palin. Oh wait....

Never mind.

[The Doctor.]

22. ...

:rofl:

[marshall]

21. Maybe Obama can make it work

I'd like to believe there's a way to encourage children to avoid high risk behavior in a way that is both effective and acceptable to critics of the "faith based" approach.

[The Doctor.]

31. Not without traumatizing them for life.

You can't condition kids against millions of years of evolution without causing irreparable damage.

[weaverofpallas]

72. Yeah, seeing as the prime years for sexual intercourse are the teenage ones...

Humans were made to have sex ASAP. Our Puritan society is trying to go against evolution, which is a bit like trying to move Mount Everest to Canada. As a feminist, I have no problem with sex. I just have a problem with making women into simple-minded objects for the entertainment of men.

[The Doctor.]

81. Or vice-versa.

So true; 10,000 years of 'civilization' cannot overturn 5,000,000 of evolution.

[BlueIris]

32. Maybe Obama can make it work.

Nobody else has been able to make it work, but Obama's Administration can.

Ridiculous.

[marshall]

38. Maybe they can put a new spin on it

Maybe the focus should be on self control rather than total abstinence. Broadening the definition a bit to mean abstaining in certain circumstances, not feeling like you have to have sex at every opportunity that arises, etc.

[AlbertCat]

47. Broadening the definition... or "How to Control Hormones"

[pattmarty]

41. What way? It is and ALWAYS was an idiot policy, used as a way.............

...........to get (their) religious organizations money. ALL BULLSHIT, and it's bad for ya.

[marshall]

44. That's why I think if anybody can make it work, Obama (and his people) can

Take the religioius special interests out of it. Just concentrate on behavior and consequences and cost. In the same way we try to teach young people to control their desire for instant gratification that leads to overspending and racking up a mountain of debt, we can find some way to teach the value of controlling other urges.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

82. Psssst....

Just an FYI, Obama does not poop rainbows.

[high density]

2. hmm.

During the health legislation debate in the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) added $50 million in annual funding for five years to states for abstinence programs -- a provision that survived the tumultuous process that ensued.

I thought we weren't accepting any Repuke ideas?

[No Elephants]

12. Doesn't sound right. Maybe what you heard was "We're accepting ONLY Repuke ideas?"

[high density]

46. The Republicans were saying they were being completely ignored. NM

[boppers]

74. Over 200 Republican amendments in the final version.

They were complaining that they didn't get to write it, in such a way as to leave people with the impression that they didn't have massive amounts of input.

[skyounkin]

40. LOL- the damn bill

is mostly repuke ideas.

[pattmarty]

42. Yep. And the Dems WILL pay.

[Fumesucker]

3. I for one am thrilled that we have such a brilliant liberal/progressive president..

If we had a Republican president we might have gotten a mandate to buy private insurance and increased funding for abstinence education woo woo forced down our throats..

We sure dodged *that* bullet..

[No Elephants]

13. The Party that controlled Congress from FDR to Reagan now believes it can't get elected

unless it stays well to the right of Nixon.

So, keeping march right -- and look only forward, not back.

The answer would have been better messaging, but, instead, we chose to become Pub Lite.

Trouble is, Democrats will never be better at being Republicans than Republicans are.

[Lorien]

36. And meanwhile the rest of us get no representation. nt

[GreenPartyVoter]

50. But-but-but there's not enough liberals to deserve representation! America's a center-right nation

dontcha know!!

[defendandprotect]

58. Nah . . . we're just pretending in order to get corporate money . . . !!!

[fasttense]

4. What a waste of money.

That money could have been better spent on death panels.

Brought to you by the committee to realize RepubliCON promises. I want my death panels.

Despite what Michelle Bachmann said Grandma IS shovel ready.

[mascarax]

5. Think this is an Orrin Hatch special

It came up months ago...can't believe it's still in there. $250 million can do a lot of good. Elsewhere.

[4saken]

6. What a huge waste.

Why don't they just accept the findings, abstinence education fails.

Another sickening case of the religious informing law and action with their bronze age mythology.

[Bluenorthwest]

7. Valarie Huber celebrates her continued income!

I wonder if they will be teaching them to use good luck charms and cast chicken bones as well? More superstition from the faith based freak show called DC. Two hundred and fifty million dollars. For a con job.

[No Elephants]

8. Wonder how much of that money goes to churches and/or neo theos?

[No Elephants]

25. And we're going to penalize a state $42 million a year over a billboard? LMAO.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4321593

[ixion]

9. Great. Another waste of hundreds of millions we don't have, on a project that doesn't work

way to go.

Incidentally, wasted tax money like this is one of the reasons I am against an insurance mandate 'tax'.

[Happyhippychick]

11. To appease a party that is never satisfied.

[defendandprotect]

17. To appease a Catholic Church that needs money . . . ????

[glinda]

23. To appease Evangelicals

[defendandprotect]

28. This Pope is taking RCC to Evangelicalism . . . is that what you mean?

Meanwhile, the RCC is in need of funds to pay off the pedophile lawsuits --

Looks like Bush was helping that cause?

[glinda]

29. This Pope aligned himself with the Evangelical movement awhile back when he

declared an Encyclical basically demanding "Evangelizing" as a major focus. I noticed the "new"wording and use of the word which was not commonly used in the Catholic Church previously. His ultra conservative views are also in part hopping to compete with the Evangelical conservatives that are growing quickly. This is also evident in his attempt to rule over Orthodox Church.

[pattmarty]

43. Ain't gonna happen. They really are fucked on this gigantic, centuries............

.........old perversion. This just might turn them into one of those "minor weirdo" religions which it justly deserves.

[defendandprotect]

57. Think they need the money and it certainly flows to those TV Evangelicals!!

Pat Robertson has diamond mines!

Ironically, the Catholic Church I was involved with dissed the Bible --

calling it "convoluted" and not fit for consumption by the average person --

was to be left to scholars to try to interpret!!

Getting hung up on the Bible wasn't for Catholics, then!

Many Catholics, however, IMO, wanted the Catholic Church to be more Protestant . . .

and they deal with the Bible to some degree -- at least acknowledged it!

Catholics were looking for a more compassionate, humane church -- those pot luck suppers,

etal -- and I don't know if they ever got the RCC moved in a kinder, gentler direction --

I think RCC was too busy trying to hide its problems and trying to deal with nuns and priests

leaving by the cartloads! And, then, that other problem . . . you know . .. !!

[defendandprotect]

56. Mainly, Pope/RCC seems to simply be following the $$$$$$$$$ . . .

[glinda]

59. He is. That is the point. He is a greedy ill-spirited little person. They need a new Pope.

That is their only hope. A Pope that will clean the place out and re-vamp the Catholic Church. If not, they will loose big time. Benniie has really been a problem ever since PJPII was ailing. He was such a bad bad choice.

[defendandprotect]

69. The CIA Pope made a "bad choice" . . . . ?

:evilgrin:


Also, I think Ratzy was in postion -- Office of Inquisiton -- "saving the church from scandal" -- ?

Who promotes truly spiritual saintly figures to high official positions in the church?

[glinda]

70. Ratzy was positioned to keep this quiet or he thought. He would never acknowledge PJPII as

a candidate for Sainthood. He was jealous of him. Besides, one was of Nazi background and the other helped people escape.

[defendandprotect]

71. Don't think that JPII didn't understand what was going on with scandals . . .

he'd been in the church a long time and had to have understood the purpose of the

Swiss Guards and the questionable things going on with pedophelia. Seemed some of

his best friends were involved. IMO, JPII and Ratzy were of one mind on that issue.

Whatever else was going on between them, who knows?

Looks like Ratzy probably had lover in the church. Perhaps more dangerously open that

JPII might have liked?

Pope John XXIII made advancement in ending the RCC war on Jews.

And spoke for a male/female god -- for democracy within the church.

JPII reversed much of that.

Poland is probably one of the most fiercely anti-Jewish nations, ever.

That's why Hitler put the first concentration camps in Poland.

[glinda]

77. I have a deep understanding of why Poland and how Poland was used, my grandma

fled from the area where Aushwitz is.
PJPII acknowledged in a sorrowful statement about the pedophile issues. Then he started to go downhill with illness. I am just saying, if he were alive, I think this would have been dealt with differently.

[defendandprotect]

79. There is that possibility . . .

but my feeling is, looking at his assistance in overturning Vatican II,

perhaps even his involvement in the right wing coup on Vatican II,

I find it unlikely.

[midnight]

19. I agree.

[City Lights]

14. Another $250 million flushed down the toilet.

x(

[Altoid_Cyclist]

15. I have one suggestion that would have made more sense.

However, we're now living in a Talking Heads world.



We have Americans wondering where their next meal is coming from and we are wasting money on Abstinence Programs???

Food pantries all around the country could use some of that money a lot more than this white elephant of a program. Of course, (R)elephants don't care about the poor so I guess it is to be expected.

This is one organization that is at least trying to help. Lots of info. on how much food is wasted and how home gardeners cam help.


http://www.ampleharvest.org/LP/Pantry.php?gclid=CIG5w9eO2aACFVhJ2godRgk7CQ

[defendandprotect]

16. That's a crime in itself . . . a crime mainly against our children . . .

Ignorance isn't fun -- it's tragedy --

and we have to end this Church influence over our government before it becomes

even more serious.

What are the $$$ totals we're giving the Catholic Church now?

$500 million every year -- more?

[proReality]

18. Yeah, that's worked so well. n/t

[The Doctor.]

20. What a great way to throw away money.

"We're going to spend $250,000,000 telling teenagers not to act like teenagers!"

Fucking. Morons.

[Turbineguy]

24. How many condoms

can you buy with a quarter billion?

[and-justice-for-all]

26. FAIL..nt

[IndianaGreen]

27. Pandering to the religious right, and money flushed down the toilet

Those abstinence programs are a dismal failure. The money goes into the pockets of proselytizers whose only interest is in teaching intolerance.

[Lorien]

35. And the religious Right is never going to be impressed anyway

so why waste a moment of time or single dollar on them?

[ProSense]

30. "by focusing exclusively on encouraging children and adolescents to avoid sex" Complete distortion

Funding for comprehensive sex education is also in the bill. Sec. 2953 also provides “$75 million per year through FY2014 for Personal Responsibility Education grants to States for programs to educate adolescents on both abstinence and contraception for prevention of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.”

link

And the abstinence funding is not $250 million.

[Imperialism Inc.]

49. You are incorrect about the funding. And I quote right from the link you provided,

"Their provision would restore a program called Title V, which, since the Welfare Reform Act of 1996, has allocated a yearly $50 million in grants to abstinence-only education programs." and "If the Senate language survives reconciliation, the Title V program will be extended through 2014."

And from the original post. "bill restores $250 million over five years "

Ok so 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014.
5 Years at $50 million per year = "$250 million over five years". You are able to do basic multiplication right?

[nightrain]

33. more damage being revealed in order to pass this POS... That 250M

could have been better spent elsewhere! But no, the Administration was so desperate, they threw in all kinds of GOP bait!

[Lorien]

34. Insanity; doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

Didn't work for the repugs, won't work for the DLC.

[hayu_lol]

37. This will surely go to help out the badly underfunded...

Charter Schools.

[hunter]

39. $250 million for that, and who knows, maybe $750 million for the babies born because of it.

A billion here, a billion there, who's counting?

[sam sarrha]

52. but they get more poor kids who have to join the army to survive. a Constant source of cannon fodder

for their endless wars.. for profit

[AlbertCat]

45. Abstinence? I thought that didn't work.

[depakid]

54. Not only doesn't work, but increases teen pregnancy and the incidence of STD's

[ezmerelda39]

48. how about

$500 million for REAL sex education and free condoms.Obviously Republicans have hormones that never develop as no matter how old they get they still have their shorts in a wad. NO wonder there are so many GOP sex scandals.

[sam sarrha]

51. just do what they always do.. propose stuff, fund it..never allocate it.. launder it elsewhere ....

no problem..

[LuckyLib]

53. The only abstinence we need to see out of Washington is a few more congressMEN keeping it in their

pants.

[bemildred]

55. We need abstinence education for Congress.

Who is in the news all the time for their sexual misadventures if not our representatives in Congress?

In fact, maybe we should not call it "Congress" any more, that's just too suggestive.

[kpete]

60. Health bill restores $250 million in abstinence-education funds

Source: Washington Post

Health bill restores $250 million in abstinence-education funds

By Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 27, 2010

A little-noticed provision of the health legislation has rescued federal support for a controversial form of sex education: teaching youths to remain virgins until marriage.

The bill restores $250 million over five years for states to sponsor programs aimed at preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases by focusing exclusively on encouraging children and adolescents to avoid sex. The funding provides at least a partial reprieve for the approach, which faced losing all federal support under President Obama's first two budgets.

"We're very happy to see that funding will continue so the important sexual health message of risk avoidance will reach American teens," said Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association, a Washington-based lobbying group. "What better place to see such an important health issue addressed than in the health legislation?"

But the funding was condemned by critics, who were stupefied by the eleventh-hour rescue.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/26/AR2010032602457.html

[Zoeisright]

61. That's unbelievably stupid.

Abstinence education does not work.

[Skittles]

62. there is a whole lot of stupid in that bill

[katandmoon]

63. Sickening.

[Newest Reality]

64. Maybe, at least, this will teach an important lesson

to the more insightful teenagers concerning the intelligence and sanity of their elders who push ridiculous and ignorant ideologies while wasting millions of dollars in the process.

[Deep13]

65. Jesus Christ. Excuse me while I piss away a quarter of a billion dollars.

Actually it's worse than that because of the real damage that ignorance-only education will cause.

[SomeGuyInEagan]

67. "ignorance-only education" ... a very fitting turn of the phrase. Thanks. n/t

[elocs]

66. From this morning's LBN:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4322580

[kpete]

68. Health bill restores $250 million in abstinence-education funds

This thread has been combined with another thread.

Click here to read this message in its new location.

[cbdo2007]

73. This is freaking brilliant - remember elections coming up!

Now Dems can say the Repubes voted against Abstinence Only Education. ha ha, dumbasses.

[OneBlueSky]

75. hey, it's only a quarter billion . . .

the military pisses that much away every week or two . . .

wonder how many hungry people that would feed? . . . and for how long? . . .

on edit: btw, wasn't that the amount of A-Rod's contract with Texas when he left Seattle some years ago? . . .

[Stargleamer]

76. What a waste of money n/t

[Frank Cannon]

78. It costs $250 million to tell kids not to fuck?

What, is there some sort of blockbuster movie that's supposed to go with that lecture?

[samplegirl]

80. Total waste of money! IMHO

[samsingh]

83. yeah abstinence works - not

i think of sex constantly and do it as often as i can.