Thanks to President Obama Federal Abstinence Education Funding Expires Today
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
June 30, 2009
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Today marked the end of federal funding of abstinence education under the Title V Abstinence Education Program and the CBAE (Community Based Abstinence Education). Before he took over the White House, President Barack Obama made it clear he would cut abstinence funding.
In Obama’s FY 2010 Proposed Budget, the president called for eliminating the funding for abstinence education, which has been successful in helping teenagers make positive decisions.
Instead, Obama called for at least $164 million in funding for contraceptive-only education, which will likely go to pro-abortion groups like Planned Parenthood.
Leslee Unruh, president of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse, told the Washington Times that abstinence groups were not giving up.
"Defeat? We don’t know the meaning of that word," she said.
Another prominent abstinence educator said some programs will find a way to operate their established programs with a smaller budget.
The proponent told the newspaper abstinence educators "have established themselves in lots of schools and lots of communities, and I don’t think they’re going to be easily removed. I don’t think the federal dollar to most people in the abstinence community is, in the end, all that important. The issue is more important to them."
Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, lamented the end of federal funding for abstinence programs.
"All good things come to an end, they say. Unfortunately for abstinence education, that time is now," he told LifeNews.com. "To the cheers of groups like Planned Parenthood, today marks the official end of Title V abstinence funding, which was created back in 1996 to help spread the ‘save sex’ message in the states."
"The shift is particularly devastating to abstinence programs, which will now have to rely on private and local support," he said.
Perkins says he thinks abstinence education programs will survive because they earn strong support from parents and teens.
"Don’t count out the grassroots backlash just yet. Parents see the value of abstinence education even if this administration does not. By huge margins, a 2007 Zogby poll found that 80% of moms and dads think that sex education should place more emphasis on abstinence education," he says.
Perkins is more concerned that the money will be directed to pro-abortion groups that will thrust pro-sex and abortion-backing messages on America’s youth.
"Leaders like President Obama believe that if we mitigate teen pregnancy, everything will be alright. To the contrary, the price society pays for premarital sex is far more than teen and out-of-wedlock births," he explains.
"Even those who avoid the consequences of sexually transmitted disease and teen pregnancy still suffer negative psychological ones like decreased marital satisfaction and higher rates of depression," he said.
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