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This is a press release about a report on the billions we’re spending on “abstinence-only-until-marriage” education. Apparently, a major part of this money is going to right-wing crony organizations and anti-abortion groups. Lovely, no? Your tax dollars at work.
“These programs are prohibited from discussing contraceptives except in the context of failure rates and have never been proven effective.”
“Despite the lack of evidence of effectiveness, programs continue to be funded.”
“A significant amount of funding is directed toward anti-abortion groups, crisis pregnancy centers, and groups that use ideologically based curricula.”
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From: Adrienne Verrilli
For Immediate Release Contact: Adrienne Verrilli at
March 23, 2005 202-256-2405 or 646-334-3735
SIECUS State Profile: A Portrait of Sexuality Education and
Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs in the States Released Today
Washington, DC - The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS) is pleased to announce the release of the second edition of SIECUS State Profiles: A Portrait of Sexuality Education and Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs in the States. The publication is the most comprehensive document of its kind detailing sexuality education and abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in states and communities across the county in Fiscal Year 2004. It contains information on each states law(s), currently proposed legislation, and recent event related to sexuality education. It also details the amount of money states and state-based entities receive for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs and how the funds are used.
“SIECUS State Profiles will give educators, policymakers, community leaders, and parents a comprehensive picture of what our nation’s young people are, and in many cases, are not learning with respect to their sexual health,” said Bill Smith, vice president for public policy at SIECUS. “This publication shows that there is a pressing need to ensure that young people get the medically accurate, age-appropriate sexuality education they need and deserve,” Smith continued.
Since 1982, the U.S. government has spent over a billion dollars on unproven abstinence-only-until-marriage programs through three major funding streams. These funding streams are: Title V, passed as part of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act; Special Programs of Regional and National Significance–Community-Based Abstinence Education (SPRANS–CBAE); and the Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA). Of that billion, $620 million dollars has been spent in just the last seven years. Under the leadership of President Bush there has been a continued expansion of investment in these programs with $168 million allocated in Fiscal Year 2005 alone. Now the President is seeking an all-time high of $206 million in his proposed Fiscal Year 2006 budget. These programs are prohibited from discussing contraceptives except in the context of failure rates and have never been proven effective.
SIECUS’ Major Findings:
State laws regarding sexuality education are inconsistent and vary widely.
v California, Maine, New Jersey and Oregon have laws that support a more comprehensive approach to sexuality education. California and Oregon law states that if a school teaches sexuality education, it must be medically accurate, age appropriate. Maine and New Jersey mandate comprehensive sexuality education in public schools.
v Michigan passed a law in 2004 that “strengthens” abstinence programs by requiring schools to focus on abstinence-only-until-marriage.
v North Dakota provides very little guidance on what should be taught in sexuality education courses.
v South Carolina greatly restricts what can be taught, for example, contraception may not be discussed unless it is in within the context of use in marriage.
Program funding is all about politics.
v In Washington, DC where the law mandates comprehensive sexuality education, the Best Friends Foundation has received nearly $1.5 billion in funding between 2003 and 2004. This organization is run by Elayne Bennett, wife of William Bennett former Secretary of Education under Ronald Reagan. Alma Powell, wife of former Secretary of State Colin Powell, is on the board of directors.
v The Medical Institute of Austin, TX receives more that $500,000 annually in federal funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, including funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Institute’s founder Joe McIlhaney has close ties with President Bush stemming from his work promoting abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in Texas. McIlhaney currently serves on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS and the Advisory Committee to the Director of the CDC.
v In FY 2003, Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) secured more the $3 million in earmarks for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs for grantees in Pennsylvania during a tough re-election campaign in which his commitment to conservative social issues was being challenged. These earmarks continued in FY 2004 and 2005.
v House Majority Leader Tom Delay’s (R-TX) congressional district in Texas receives almost a half-million in funding annually.
v Federal abstinence-only-until-marriage funding also tends to be concentrated in states that figure prominently in national politics. Of the ten states that received the largest amount of federal funding, four are considered Republican strongholds in national elections: Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas. Of these same ten, three were the most important swing states in the last presidential election: Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Despite the lack of evidence of effectiveness, programs continue to be funded.
v Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage programs are in their eighth year of funding and only 11 states have evaluated their programs and publicly released their results. The results ranged from finding the programs to be ineffective to finding them to be harmful. These states include: Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
v Research has shown that virginity pledges, the cornerstone of many abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, undermine condom use, contraception, and medical treatment. Specifically, young people who take virginity pledges are 30 percent less likely to use contraception when they become sexually active and have the same STD rates as young people who never pledged. Those young people who took pledges and remained “virgins” were nonetheless more likely to engage in anal and oral sex than young people who had never pledged.
A significant amount of funding is directed toward anti-abortion groups, crisis pregnancy centers, and groups that use ideologically based curricula.
v Nationally, $26 million in federally funding goes to anti-choice organizations. Ohio and New York have the greatest number of anti-choice organizations that receive funding. Ten organizations in Ohio receive $4 million and 12 organizations in New York receive at least $2.5 million.
v Commonly used curricula rely on fear and shame, include false and misleading information about contraception and abortion, and ignore the needs of LGBTQ youth.
v A recent Congressional report found that some of the more popular federally funded curricula teach adolescents false and misleading information about reproductive health. These curricula are used in numerous states:
o A.C. Green's Game Plan: Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, New York, and Virginia
o Choosing the Best: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma, and Texas
o FACTS: Arizona, Kansas, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, and West Virginia
o WAIT Training: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania
“The abstinence-only-until-marriage industry continues to feed at the federal trough,” said Smith. “The U.S. Congress is appropriating more and more money and the Bush Administration has made these programs the centerpiece of its domestic agenda. All of this, despite the fact that these programs have never been proven effective and provide young people with inaccurate, negative, and potentially harmful messages.” Smith continued.
“Our young people deserve better than this. They deserve comprehensive sexuality education that provides unbiased, accurate information about sexuality and relationships including vital information on life-saving topics such as STDs, HIV, and pregnancy prevention,” Smith concluded.
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To review the publication, go to www.siecus.org
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