Obama administration cuts off federal funding of Abstinence-only sex ed.

[Swede]

It never worked,so I don't see a problem here.



The Future of Abstinence
It's been a mainstay of sex ed for more than a decade. Now, as the Obama administration cuts off federal funding, the movement scrambles for money, determined to continue its mission.




http://www.newsweek.com/id/219818

[robinlynne]

1. good. better late than never.

[donheld]

2. The abstinence of funding Abstinence only. How sweet it is.

[aikoaiko]

3. A-fuckin'-men.

:applause:

[ruggerson]

4. That's great. Very good news.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

5. Thank God...FINALLY.

[dixiegrrrrl]

6. Now THAT is change I can support!

Thank you Mr. President!!!!

[whoneedstickets]

7. New slogan...Just do it!

with protection

[moobu2]

8. abstinence only is about as effective as "just say no" to drugs...not at all.

another repuke failure.

[LynzM]

9. Fantastic, about time, too!!

Has been shown over and over again to do nothing positive, why continue to fund it? Thank you, Obama!

[saracat]

10. K + R good news. Thank you Mr. President!

[Hekate]

11. Obama just keeps on keeping on. He also cut defense spending programs...

... but since there's no pony involved with either of these things, I don't expect much positive hoopla here.

Hekate

[niyad]

16. he got the enthusiasm from rachel about the f--22 defunding. as for this and the f-22,

all I can say is "about damned time"

thankful, but not unduly impressed that it has taken this long.

[pinto]

12. They were a clear failure. And, in risk reduction terms for unwanted pregnancy, a hoax for teens.

In the beginning, the public-health community was open to the programs. The United States did, after all, have the highest teen pregnancy rate in the developed world. "There was open-mindedness then, that it might work" says John Santelli, of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. "Everyone is willing to give new ideas a trial period." By 1999, one study estimated a third of American students were receiving an abstinence-only education.

But as funding grew, so did a body of research showing that abstinence didn't change the sexual behaviors of students; pregnancy and STD rates did not go down, the age of initial sexual activity did not go up. "Each evaluation came along ... and each showed it didn't work," says Santelli. The articles appeared in peer-reviewed journals, many in the Journal of Adolescent Health, and in government-commissioned reviews.

In 2007, a federally funded study of four abstinence programs found its students no more likely to abstain than those in a comprehensive program. At the same time, comprehensive programs that discuss contraceptives and their use received better, although by no means perfect, marks. Researcher Doug Kirby's 2008 review of 48 studies of comprehensive curricula found that two-thirds either reduced frequency of sex or number of sexual partners.

By the time Obama cut Title V abstinence-education funds from his budget, 25 states had already begun rejecting the money, 16 because they didn't agree ideologically or weren't seeing results, the others for administrative reasons.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/219818

[Diane R]

13. Yes. The change we voted for!!

[niyad]

14. about time

[Lasher]

15. Good. Let the fundies pay for their faith based birth control.

Fundies can lie if they want about contraception and protection against STDs but that's what church is for.

[Patchuli]

17. Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssss!

:fistbump:

[Vidar]

18. Good.

[annabanana]

19. Thank you Mr. President. . .

Now about that "Faith Based Office. . . "

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sofa king]

21. Unwanted baby creation suffers another setback.

[barbtries]

22. you know this president?

obama? he really is a mixed bag. i like this decision. just came from a post where i learned he signed a law that allows the DOD to opt out of FOIA requests. didn't like that one. so it goes.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

23. Good.

I went to an all-girls Catholic school at a time when we got no sex ed and you were still going to hell for being s slut who had sex outside of holy matrimony.

There was a lot of sex, a lot of abortions, and more than a few births in those four years of high school.

Abstinence only has never worked. Period.

[datasuspect]

24. that's a move in the right direction

good.

[joeybee12]

25. Good...a waste of money...n/t

[Starbucks Anarchist]

26. Good.

[spanone]

27. big C H A N G E

[guitar man]

28. Good

Now lets redirect that money into some realistic and effective sex education programs. :applause:

[mimitabby]

29. some good news!!

[onestepforward]

30. Great news! K&R

[liberaltrucker]

31. It's about fucking time!

No pun intended.

:thumbsup:

[Raster]

32. You were way too quick!

:toast:

[HopeOverFear]

33. Very good

[ElboRuum]

34. Best thing that could have happened...

...to the boondoggle that is Ignorance Ed.

[fl_dem]

35. faith based "businesses"

oh, I mean, programs will have to ask their flocks to tithe a little bigger so they can fund their own brand of BS.

[2Design]

36. Well they did one thing right n/t

[krabigirl]

37. Change we can believe in! :) I hope the fundies freak about this one!

[calimary]

38. Excellent! Reason prevails.

Thank heavens! Sure took long enough.

[jonnyblitz]

39. k & r, now he needs to get rid of the faith-based BULLSHIT as

well.

[keep_it_real]

40. YES!!!

[sakabatou]

41. Good.

Because abstinence only DOESN'T FUCKING WORK.