CDC Figures Show Teen Abortions Lower in States Accepting Abstinence Funds
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
August 13, 2009
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — A new report relying on data from the Centers for Disease Control finds the states that accepted abstinence education funding saw greater reductions in teen abortions compared to states that didn’t. The information provides another argument in favor of funding abstinence education programs.
The Texas-based pro-life group San Antonio Coalition for Life has put out the new report and it compared CDC abortion figures to the list of states accepting or rejecting the funds.
From 2001 through 2005, abortion advocates were successful in getting 17 states to reject the federal grants for abstinence funding. The results show they were worse off for their decisions.
For teen girls under the age of 15, the CDC figures showed a 7.5% decrease in abortions in states rejecting the abstinence funding but a larger 23.1 percent decrease in abortions among states accepting the grants.
Examined another way, the group says, "The states which have accepted funding for abstinence only education showed a 208% greater reduction in abortions among girls 14 years old and younger, when compared to the states which have rejected funding for abstinence only education."
Overall, abortions on girls under 15 were 37.3 percent higher in states that rejected the monies.
The group also examined the abortion rates for teenage girls between the ages of 15 and 19.
While states rejecting the funding saw a 5.2 percent decrease in abortions, states accepting the funds experienced a much larger 20.5 percent decrease.
Viewed another way, states accepting abstinence funding showed a 294.2% greater reduction in abortions among girls 19 years old and younger compared with states that rejected the funds.
"Overall, the teen abortion rate among girls 19 years old and younger for states which rejected abstinence only funding was 48.2% higher than in states which had accepted funding," the group indicated.
Jill Stanek, a pro-life nurse and blogger, noted the study and said the results have significant consequences for abortion and abstinence policy.
"What I’d like to know is when the Obama administration will prove they truly want ‘common ground’ by endorsing the benefits of abstinence education," Stanek said. "Oh, but wait, that type of education won’t line the pockets of the abortion industry or Planned Parenthood. No wonder their denial is so strong."
She said members of Congress should have paid attention to these figures before making decisions to cut abstinence funds.
"Even with these facts (certainly not publicized by the mainstream media) from the CDC, a Senate Panel voted to effectively end abstinence-only education funding," she said.
"With all of their crowing about how ‘abstinence education doesn’t work,’ pro-aborts may want to take note," she says.
States rejecting the abstinence funding included Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Related web sites:
San Antonio Colaition for Life – https://www.sacfl.org
Jill Stanek – https://www.jillstanek.com
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