Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Abortion advocates in Congress have proposed a new bill that further weakens abstinence education at a time when news reports indicate the teen birth rate is soaring. Although comprehensive sexual education is clearly not working, abortion backers want more taxpayer dollars for it.

Flying under the radar, a new bill hit both the House and Senate on Wednesday.

Rep. Barbara Lee, a California Democrat, and Sen. Frank Lautenberg, a New Jersey Democrat, have introduced the "Responsible Education about Life" (REAL) Act to fund programs that feature mostly sexual education and very little in the way of abstinence promotion.

"Unlike its name suggests, the REAL Act would pump millions of dollars into federal grants for 'abstinence plus' programs, which are heavy on contraception and light on abstinence," Family Research Council president Tony Perkins tells LifeNews.com.

"Not surprisingly, both NARAL and Planned Parenthood are lobbying on behalf of the bill," he continued. "And why not? When the contraception pushed in these programs fails -- as it will -- a new generation of abortion customers will be born."

"If Congress truly wanted to get real about curbing teen sex, it would take an in-depth look at the benefits of abstinence," Perkins said.

He points to a new book, Hooked, written by doctors Joe McIlhaney and Freda McKissic Bush that takes an in-depth look at the benefits of abstinence education and how it helps teens avoid sexual relations and encourages them to make positive life decisions. They tackle the casual sex question from a unique angle--the field of neuroscience.

"Capitol Hill is busy promoting comprehensive sex education without taking a comprehensive look at the emotional and psychological risks of sex. That has to change," Perkins says.

As LifeNews.com reported, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released 2007 data yesterday indicating the number of teen births is at a record high. http://www.lifenews.com/nat4925.html

With federal and state governments sinking much more money into the more numerous sexual education programs, Dr. Janice Shaw Crouse, of Concerned Women for America, says the real culprit for the high figures is clear.
"When over two-thirds of public schools (68 percent) teach comprehensive sex education and those programs receive more than four times the amount of federal funding than the amount designated for abstinence programs, it's time to ask Dr. Phil's question, 'How's that working for you?'" she said.

Sign Up for Free Pro-Life News From LifeNews.com