FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: |
CONTACT:
|
Bill
Barker |
| Tuesday,
October 2, 2001 |
|
(202)
419-3420 |
House to Dump More Taxpayer
Money Into Unproven Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage
Programs
WASHINGTON, DC (October 2, 2001)—James Wagoner, President of Advocates
for Youth, criticized an amendment Representative Ernest Istook (R-OK)
plans to introduce to increase funding for ineffective abstinence-only-until-marriage
programs - programs that censor information about contraception from
young people.
The amendment calls for $73 million for FY 2002 to be allocated to the
Title V SPRANS program. Under welfare reform, Congress already allocates
$50 million a year to these programs.
The Surgeon
General of the United States David Satcher has rejected the abstinence-only-until-marriage
approach, and the Institute of Medicine (IOM)
has cited these programs as examples of "poor fiscal and public
health policy."
"What Congress has to realize is that, by denying young people
critical information about contraception and prevention in the era of
AIDS, they are placing the health and lives of young people in jeopardy," said
Wagoner.
Abstinence-only-until-marriage programs have not been proven to have any effect
on the rates of teenage pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease. Instead,
Wagoner urges Congress to adopt a more comprehensive approach to sexuality
education, one that includes both strong messages of
abstinence and contraception.
Comprehensive sexuality education has the backing of many of the nation's
most trusted medical organizations, such as the American Medical Association
(AMA), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the IOM, and the Office
of National AIDS Policy. In addition, a recent report issued by Satcher
highlighted the critical link between the role of parents and the role
of schools in providing young people with sexuality education that includes
values and medically accurate information.
"It is unacceptable that politicians are still putting their ideology
before the health and well-being of our nation's young people. Instead,
Congress must act as the research directs, and they must do it now. Every
day that Congress delays costs our young people dearly," Wagoner
concluded.
###
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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