The abstinence-only grants have been controversial from the start.
Supporters say comprehensive sex education sends a mixed message and that abstinence is the only method that is 100 percent effective in preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. Critics say abstinence education simply doesn't stop teens from having sex, and those teens need more information about how to reduce pregnancy and disease.
In April 2007, a federally funded study of four abstinence-only programs by Mathematica Policy Research Inc., found that participants had just as many sexual partners as nonparticipants and had sex at the same median age as nonparticipants. The four programs had taught students about human anatomy and sexually transmitted diseases, helped them improve their communication skills, manage peer pressure, set personal goals and build self-esteem.
For Colorado, the study results sealed the decision to get out of the program. Dr. Ned Calonge, the state's chief medical officer, said Mathematica's methods were the gold standard for scientific studies.
"To show no benefit compared to nothing. That was striking," Calonge said. "These are tax dollars that are going for no useful purpose, and it would not be responsible for us to take those dollars."
Bob King on 27 Jun 08The problem with Abstinance Education is indicative of most Conservative attempts at social engineering. The problem is that they define large parts of normal human behavior and needs as either "evil" or "weakness," to be suppressed. Further, they really aren't all that interested in generating broadly good outcomes, but rather they are interested in creating filters that distinguish between "good people" and "failures." This is simply a means of making sure that every person party to a pregnancy knows that they ARE failures and bad people who are by definition unworthy and undeserving of help from either church or state. In other words, Abstinance Only Education has no better outcome than "nothing" because it's designed only to place a value judgement on the behavior, not to create an informed choice.
