Media

For Immediate Release:
February 9, 2005

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

Media Alert

18.5% Boost in Funding for Unproven Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs in President Bush's Proposed FY 2006 Budget

Family Planning and HIV, STD, and TB Prevention and Treatment Programs Flat-Funded or Cut

New York, NY - Less than one week after President Bush boasted in his State of the Union that he intended to cut 150 programs that "weren't getting the job done" and that "taxpayer money will be spent wisely, or not at all," the President proposed an increase of 18.5% to $206 million for abstinence-until-marriage-programs that have never been proven effective. In fact, the President is seeking an additional 36% in federal funding for the very same programs that a recent congressional report found to contain false and misleading information, censor critical sexual health information, and include scientific errors.

At the same time, the President proposed cutting $4 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) HIV and AIDS, STD and TB prevention program; flat-funding at $286 million the already woefully under-funded federal family planning program; and flat-funding the Ryan White CARE Act, the largest federal discretionary spending program providing care and treatment to people living with HIV/AIDS. The President has even proposed cutting $14 million from the Housing for Persons Living with AIDS leaving the program with a mere $268 million.

"Once again, President Bush is speaking out of both sides of his mouth," said Bill Smith, vice president for public policy at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS). "The President should heed his own words and stop using millions of taxpayer dollars to fund unproven abstinence-only-until-marriage programs that provide our nation's youth with inaccurate, negative, and potentially harmful messages." Smith continued.

Since 1982, the U.S. government has spent over a billion dollars on unproven abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. Of that billion, $620 million dollars has been spent in just the last seven years. Under the leadership of President Bush there has been a continued expansion of investment in these programs with nearly $168 million allocated in FY 2005 alone. Now the President is seeking an all-time high of $206 million in his proposed FY 2006 budget.

These programs are prohibited from discussing contraceptives except in the context of failure rates and have never been proven effective. In fact, five states, including Texas, have found that their abstinence-only-until-marriage programs are not effective and recommended a more comprehensive approach to teen pregnancy prevention and the spread of STDs. Research in Arizona, Iowa, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania has reached similar conclusions. In addition, recent studies have shown that virginity pledges, a critical component of many of these programs, may cause harm to young people. These studies show that young people who take virginity pledges are 30% less likely to use contraception once they become sexually active, and have the same STD rates as young people who have never taken the pledge.

"President Bush only needs to look to his own state of Texas and the evaluation done by Texas A&M University to see the failure of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs," Smith said. "It is clear, however, that the President's pet, ideologically driven programs get a pass when it comes to performance standards and, in this case, are allowed to continue despite a negative impact on young people," continued Smith.

"Our young people deserve better and so do American taxpayers. They deserve comprehensive sexuality education that provides unbiased, accurate information about sexuality and relationships including vital information on life-saving topics such as STDs, HIV, and pregnancy prevention," said Smith.

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