“Dear Mr. President”

Washington, DC (Tuesday, February 10, 2009) – Youth activists call on President Barack Obama to “stop funding the clowns” by eliminating all funding for ineffective abstinence-until-marriage programs in his Fiscal Year 2010 budget.

The national action, (www.amplifyyourvoice.org/obama), highlights an $800,000 Community-Based-Abstinence-Education (CBAE) grantee in Ohio - - Elizabeth’s New Life Center, a crisis pregnancy center - - which pays Derek Dye, a former Barnum and Bailey “clown” to teach abstinence-only to students. His “education” presentation consists of juggling tennis balls and machetes, balancing stools and a painter’s ladder on his chin; and talking about abstinence. There is no factual or science-based sexual health education provided.

“When it comes to our sexual health, we expect better than clowns,” said Sarah Audelo, Manager of the Youth Activists Network at Advocates for Youth. “Young people were the backbone of last year’s election that put President Obama and a more progressive Congress in power. To continue funding ineffective abstinence-only-until-marriage programs would be a slap in our face.”

Every day in America, 10,000 young people contract a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and 2,400 become pregnant. The federal government has already wasted more than $1.5 billion on ineffective and harmful abstinence-only programs that mislead young people and withhold critical information they need to make safe and responsible life decisions about their health.

“President Obama has gone on record in support of age-appropriate, scientifically-accurate sex education to help young people make responsible, healthy decisions,” added Audelo. “Now is the time to put his beliefs into action.”

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Amplify , a project of Advocates for Youth, is an online community dedicated to sexual health, reproductive justice, and youth-led grassroots movement building.

Advocates for Youth is a national, nonprofit organization that creates programs and supports policies that help young people make safe, responsible decisions about their sexual and reproductive health.