7-28-08, 11:32 am

The Bush administration's ideologically motivated abstinence-only sex education programs don't work and may endanger young people, say opponents of the administration's latest effort to convince states to spend federal dollars on those programs.

Less than two weeks ago, the Bush administration, through the Administration for Children and Families, sent an e-mail to states touting the extension of the State Abstinence Education Grant Program. The e-mail informed states that they may now apply for funding for five years, until 2013. The new policy would change the previous one-year application process.

Calling the new policy a scheme to extend a failed Bush administration policy into the next presidential administration, a press statement from Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) late last week said, it 'is a gimmick aimed directly at countering states’ rejection of failed abstinence-only programs.'

'On the way out the door, the Bush administration is once again caught misrepresenting the facts to push its own agenda,' said PPFA President Cecile Richards.

'This latest announcement is nothing more than a gimmick and offers nothing new or different for states that want to provide effective programs to protect teens’ health and safety,' she added.

PPFA says it is Congress' role to oversee whether such a policy change should be put into effect.

Opponents of the policy note that the overwhelming evidence shows that abstinence-only programs simply don't work and may, in fact, endanger young people.

Two recent studies by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy (NCPTUP) indicate the failure of the program. The CDC study showed that 2006 saw the first rise in teen pregnancies in 14 years. The NCPTUP study showed that abstinence-only programs do not reduce the number of teen pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases.

All these programs do is deny teenagers medically accurate information about birth control and sexually transmitted infections, says Planned Parenthood. Abstinence-only programs do not distribute or teach youth to use condoms, for example, and so many young people who end up breaking their pledge to abstain from sexual activity do so without using condoms.

“The facts are clear: abstinence only programs do not work,” Richards said. “The government’s own evaluation of Title V found that these programs did nothing to increase abstinence or delay sexual initiation among participating youth.”

So far, 25 states have declined federal abstinence-only dollars, says Planned Parenthood. Officials in many of those states have called for real solutions that give teens the information they need to be healthy and safe.

More than 1.5 billion taxpayer dollars have been used to fund such programs.