Abstinence-only was a $1.5 billion failure

[Robbien]

In the newest research about teens who pledge abstinence the majority not only break the pledge, they forget they ever made it.

This study of teens and pledges comes from Johns Hopkins researcher Janet Rosenbaum, who took a rigorous look at nearly 1,000 students. She compared teens who took a pledge of abstinence with teens of similar backgrounds and beliefs who didn’t. She found absolutely no difference in their sexual behavior, or the age at which they began having sex, or the number of their partners.

In fact, the only difference — aside from apparent memory-impairment — was that the group that promised to remain abstinent was significantly less likely to use birth control, especially condoms, when they did have sex. The lesson many students seemed to retain from their abstinence-only program was a negative and inaccurate view of contraception.

This is not just a primer on the capacity for teenage denial or the inner workings of adolescent neurobiology. What makes this study important is simply this: “virginity pledges” are one of the ways that the government measures whether abstinenceonly education is “working.” They count the pledges as proof that teens will abstain. It turns out that this is like counting New Year’s resolutions as proof that you lost 10 pounds.

When he was running for president, George W. Bush promised, “My administration will elevate abstinence education from an afterthought to an urgent goal.” Over the last eight years, a cottage industry of “abstinence-only-until-marriage” purveyors became a McMansion industry. Funding increased from $73 million a year in 2001 to $204 million in 2008. That’s a grand total of $1.5 billion in federal money for an ideology in search of a methodology. And half the states refused funds to pay for sex mis-education.

. . .

Soon Congress and the new administration will be asked to ante up again for abstinence-only programs. As Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood says, abstinence-only education was “an experiment gone awry. We spent $1.5 billion and can’t point to a single study that says this helps. If it doesn’t help, why fund it?”

http://www.lakewalesnews.com/articles/2009/01/10/opinion/letters/doc4967ba78cc610877876880.txt

[madfloridian]

1. In 2007 the Democratic congress increased that funding by 27.8 million.

Increased funding for failed abstinence only training.

There is no excuse for that.

[saigon68]

2. Yes, apparently Harry Reid was masturbating in the men's room

And failed to vote against this this bill

[MadMaddie]

3. Again...is anyone surprised at the failure of this program?

[Joe Bacon]

13. Ask Bristol Palin

Sure didn't work for her, did it???????

[Warpy]

4. GOPs love to waste money on these stupid boondoggles

trying to enforce the nanny state and have absolutely nothing to show for it but a lot of upraised fingers among the young.

At least Democratic boondoggles feed people, build roads, and provide useful results.

[valerief]

5. Not really. It's purpose was to funnel money to people who'd tell their

congregations that George Bush was great and they should sign up for his war. In that respect, it was a success.

[Tesha]

10. Think of it as a $1.5 Billion subsidy to Christian Fundamentalist whackos. (NT)

[Buzz Clik]

6. Not humping costs that much? Odd.

Reminds me of the banter between Chico Marx (as Ravelli) and Groucho Marx (as Captain Spaulding) in Animal Crackers

Spaulding: What do you fellas get an hour?
Ravelli: For playing, we get-a ten dollars an hour.
Spaulding: I see. What do you get for not playing?
Ravelli: Twelve dollars an hour.
Spaulding: Well, clip me off a piece of that.
Ravelli: Now for rehearsing, we make special rate. That's-a fifteen dollars an hour...That's-a for rehearsing.
Spaulding: And what do you get for not rehearsing?
Ravelli: You couldn't afford it. You see, if we don't rehearse, we a-don't play, and if we don't play (he snaps his finger) - that runs into money.

[biopowertoday]

7. Obama has promised to cut programs that do not work. Lets see

if he cuts this one--one that congress loves.

[Tesha]

11. Won't happen. And if it does, I'll be more than happy to eat crow! (NT)

[ConcernedCanuk]

8. The World would be better off if the Bush Family had practiced abstinence

.
.
.

Imagine a World with none like Prescott, George 1 or George 2?

Thank Gawd GWB didn't father a clan of young boys.

Or did he?

ya never know where a prez has spent his seed . . .

[benld74]

9. Yes! My thoughts exactly

[olegramps]

12. Maybe he isn't the father of the two drunks.