by Emily Bridges, Director of Public Information Services

Advocates for Youth joins in mourning Justin Aaberg, Seth Walsh, Billy Lucas, Asher Brown, and Tyler Clementi.  Each of these teens committed suicide after bullying related to their being gay, or being perceived as gay.  Their deaths highlight the oppression that the vast majority of GLBTQ youth face each day:  GLSEN has found that 85 percent of GLBTQ youth experience verbal harassment and 40 percent experience physical harassment in schools.

Many are horrified by homophobic bullying, and may wonder what they can do to help eliminate it. Click through for ways you can contribute to making all GLBTQ youth safe, accepted and valued.

by Samantha, Amplify Community Editor 

 Sunday night, Lt. Dan Choi was our closing speaker at this year’s Urban Retreat in D.C. Some of the activists knew Dan’s story and some did not, but after he spoke there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Lt. Choi, while being  an incontrovertible asset to our military, is also one heck of a funny, passionate, caring, charismatic, extraordinary, regular guy. But he is a “regular guy” in the sense that  we all hope to be regular. He is himself.

One activist described his words as “feeding her soul,” but when it really comes down to it, when you really break it down, what makes his words so deeply inspirational is not anything special about him, but that they reach and feed the parts of us that make us extraordinary- that make us somebody. They do not make us anything more than we already are. And what a gift it can be to discover and embrace and love our true selves.

by Emily Bridges, MLS

In the last five years we have seen pharmacists refuse to give out a legal medication to women in need (emergency contraception) because of their personal beliefs.  We’ve learned that if a woman goes to a Catholic hospital she may be denied an abortion even if it would save her life.  We saw an attempt to pass legislation allowing doctors to refuse treatment to GLBTQ people if the doctors are opposed to homosexuality.  

 And now this.  (From RH Reality Check) 

“…one particularly disturbing obstacle that was mentioned in city after city: doctors refusing to care for women who have had abortions. Mind you, these are not doctors refusing to perform abortions. What we heard, in three separate communities, was that there are doctors who refuse to perform routine post-abortion check-ups or even to provide care for completely unrelated ailments to women who previously had abortions.”

This is a chilling turn of events: refusal to see patients who have previously had a COMPLETELY LEGAL MEDICAL PROCEDURE the doctor happens to disapprove of.

by Janine Kossen, Director, Public Policy

On July 31st, the Obama Administration released its strategy for achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals, the eight goals 192 nations agreed to achieve by the year 2015. They include eradicating poverty, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, ensuring environmental sustainability, and forging a global partnership.

This strategy should not become just another piece of paper to read and then file away in cabinets filled to the brim with policy statements that never see the light of day again. This document is intended to be a declaration of the priorities of the US government as it moves forward in unveiling its development agenda. It is our duty, as civil society members, to examine it with a fine-tooth comb to determine if our leaders are on the right track or if they have missed the mark entirely. In my opinion, this one is certainly a swing and a miss.

Essentially, the strategy calls for a new model of doing business—one that views development as precisely that—a business. Its four cornerstones include leveraging innovation, investing in sustainability, tracking development outcomes, and enhancing mutual accountability. While it is, of course, important to invest in technology, innovation, and infrastructure as well as policies that will drive economic growth, access to credit, and sustainability, we cannot forget that once you peel away all the layers of the business model, what’s left are the lives of men, women, young adults, and children.

by Will Neville, Director of Strategic Communications

When the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently released funding announcement for states to apply for federal Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage funds, HHS included some surprising new guidance:

"As States design their programs, ACF also encourages them to consider the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth and how their programs will be inclusive of and non-stigmatizing toward such participants."

Translation:
HHS kindly requests that you try to be as non-bigoted and un-hateful as possible when implementing programs that, by their very nature, discriminate against and demonize LGBT youth.
 
Is HHS kidding with this?!  We're still talking about Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, aren't we?  Because last time I checked, the "until marriage" standard wasn't really one that could be applied to LGBT youth in an "inclusive" and "non-stigmatizing" way.

States Face Choice between Failed Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs and New Comprehensive Approach

Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) offers funding for comprehensive sex education in the U.S.

For Immediate Release:  July 30, 2010

Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (202) 419-3420

Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officially launched the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP), allowing states to apply for $55 million this year in first-of-its-kind federal funding for comprehensive sex education. H.H.S. also opened applications for states to apply for $50 million in funding to support Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage programs —programs which extensive research has proven to be ineffective. Both PREP and Title V were authorized and funded as a part of the recent health care reform package, and states have states have until August 30th to indicate their interest to apply for either program. Completed applications are due by December 10, 2010 for Title V and February 1, 2011 for PREP.