Obama's Plan For Shifting Sex Education Funding Might Not Mark End Of Abstinence-Only Programs

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 13 May 2009 - 1:00 PDT

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President Obama's fiscal year 2010 budget proposal would significantly shift funding for sex education from abstinence-only programs, which have been heavily funded since 2001, to pregnancy prevention programs, but it also includes an opportunity for abstinence-only education to receive funding, USA Today reports. Melody Barnes, director of the White House domestic policy team, said that the president's proposal "reflects the research" by pushing federal money toward programs that have been proven effective and removing funding from those that have not been successful. From 2001 to 2009, abstinence-only education programs received $1.3 billion in federal support, according to the Office of Management and Budget. However, studies of the programs have failed to demonstrate their effectiveness. A 2007 federally funded, congressionally ordered study is one of the most widely cited analyses pointing to the failure of abstinence-only programs at delaying or preventing teen sex.

Obama's budget proposes nearly $178 million for teen pregnancy prevention, including $110 million for community-based programs. It calls for 75% of that funding to go toward programs that have proven successful, with the remaining 25% directed toward "innovative" programs. Barnes said that the president is "open to innovation and that could include abstinence-only if there is some indication it would work."

Valerie Huber of the National Abstinence Education Association said that her organization recently briefed congressional aides on an analysis of new studies that contradict the argument that abstinence-only programs are ineffective. Huber added that the 2007 study "was an early study about early programs. Things have changed." She said, "We're encouraging abstinence programs around the country to let Congress know what research they have and share what an abstinence program truly is" (Jayson, USA Today, 5/12).

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