ADVOCATES FOR YOUTH

Advocates for Youth Calls on Congress to Rescind Funding for Ineffective Abstinence-Only-Until Marriage Programs

Politicians Jeopardize Teens' Lives With Programs That Don't Work

WASHINGTON, DC (October 2, 2000) Citing a new report released today by the Office of National AIDS Policy that cites "grave concern" over the large incentive to "adopt unproven abstinence-only approaches" to sexuality education, Advocates for Youth President, James Wagoner, criticizes congressional politicians for putting "politics before science and personal agendas before the health and lives of American young people."

"Last week, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) called on Congress to rescind funding for ineffective abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. Today, the Office of National AIDS Policy expresses grave concern over these ineffective programs. How many reports must be released, how many lives must be threatened, before politicians will support realistic sexuality education?" questioned Wagoner. "It's ironic that the very politicians charged with protecting American teens from HIV/AIDS are creating policies that block two of the most effective methods of HIV prevention—comprehensive sexuality education and condom availability."

Wagoner calls on Congress to immediately rescind the $250 million in federal funds allocated to abstinence-only-until-marriage programs and to redirect the funding to programs that are scientifically proven to reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

"It is unacceptable for Congress to continue to fund programs that the premiere scientific organization, among many other leading public health organizations, has found to be unrealistic and ineffective. Congress must act as the research directs and they must do it now. Every day that they delay, another 48 young people contract HIV," said Wagoner.

While abstinence-only-until-marriage education censors information about contraception for the prevention of HIV/AIDS and other STDs, as well as unintended pregnancy, comprehensive sexuality education provides information about both abstinence and contraception.

That is why Wagoner finds the current congressional trend of funding abstinence-only-until-marriage programs particularly disturbing. "American young people are contracting HIV at the rate of two per hour, yet Congress continues to dump taxpayer dollars into ineffective programs that deny young people information about contraception that could protect their health and save their lives."

"At a time when nearly half of all new HIV infections occur in those under the age of 25, American teens deserve medically accurate, realistic information about sex. Anything less, in the era of AIDS, is not only naïve and misguided, but also irresponsible and dangerous," concluded Wagoner.

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Note to Editors and Producers: For more information or to set up an interview with adolescent sexuality experts, please contact Bill Barker at (202) 419-3420.

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