Media

For Immediate Release:
November 3, 2004

Contact: Adrienne Verrilli
at: 212-819-9770 x325

SIECUS Will Continue to Fight for Sound Public Health Policy and Against the Bush Administration's Conservative, Ideological Agenda

New York, NY - During the last four years, the Bush Administration has launched an unprecedented assault on sexual and reproductive health and rights in the U.S. and abroad. Sadly, the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS) expects more of the same during the next four years.

"Time and again, conservative ideology has trumped sound science, taking an unimaginable toll on women and young people across the globe," said Joseph DiNorcia Jr., President and CEO of SIECUS. "SIECUS will continue to fight for sound public health policy and against federal funding for unproven abstinence-only-until-marriage programs that deny people critical sexual health information at the state, federal, and international level," DiNorcia continued.

Since coming to office, the Bush Administration has waged a systematic campaign to promote unproven abstinence-only-until-marriage programs that disparage condom use as its primary prevention strategy against unintended pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV. Specifically, since 1998, the federal government has spent more than $620 million on abstinence-only-until-marriage programs that are prohibited from discussing condoms with the exception of their failure rates. President Bush has proposed spending an additional $270 million in Fiscal Year 2005. Furthermore, a multi-million dollar funding stream, dressed-up as an HIV-prevention strategy, has been created through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to fund similar programs in 15 countries in Africa and the Caribbean as well as in Vietnam.

"Marriage is not a public health intervention," charged DiNorcia. "With so many resources at its disposal, the U.S. government support for comprehensive, science-based pregnancy and disease prevention programs is critical," DiNorcia continued. Despite what the Bush Administration's policies have suggested over the past four years, science is not just another opinion. The Administration's narrow, ideologically motivated pseudo-strategy on sexual and reproductive health only puts lives at risk," DiNorcia continued.

No sound study exists that shows abstinence-only-until-marriage programs have any long-term beneficial impact on young people's sexual behavior. The latest research shows that some of these programs may, in fact, cause harm. Furthermore, while these programs present marriage as a cure-all to the problems of unintended pregnancy and STDs, in many AIDS-ravaged countries, marriage is actually a risk factor for HIV-transmission. In contrast, numerous comprehensive education programs about sexuality have been found to be effective in delaying the onset of sexual intercourse, reducing the number of sexual partners, and increasing contraception and condoms among teens.

"All people deserve access to a full range of sexual and reproductive health information and services to ensure their health, well-being, and their future," said DiNorcia. "Now more than ever, non-governmental organizations, domestic and international public health agencies, and state and international governments must stand strong against President Bush's ideological agenda," DiNorcia continued.

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