Salon reports:
Take Advocates for Youth, a national nonprofit organization that provides teens with accurate and informative sex education. In 18 years as a federal grantee, it has never been subjected to a government financial audit. That is, until it was suddenly hit with three in less than a year. ... In July 2001 the Washington Post published a leaked memo from the Department of Health and Human Services in which Advocates for Youth was described as "ardent critics of the Bush administration." ... [T]hese audits can have a punitive effect on nonprofits. "Each one of these rounds costs our organization enormous amounts of time and money," says Wagoner. "In many ways it can grind you to a halt if you have to go back through every book, pull every piece of paper, and so on."
What is the abstinence-only sex education program? Teens are informed that the only way to avoid pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases is to abstain from any sexual activity whatsoever until they are married. According to Salon, programs must teach kids that "a mutually faithful monogamous relationship in the context of marriage is the expected standard of sexual activity." Expected by whom, and why? No teachers involved in these programs can endorse any form of chemical or physical birth control in any way or for any reason. They can, however, use texts that include things like "Is it fair to make a baby die because of a bad decision his or her parents made?" and "What if a girl came to school in a crop top, just barely covering her bra, and shorts starting three inches below her navel? What 'game' would she be playing?"
Is there any scientific evidence that abstinence-only sex education works? No. Is there any scientific evidence that comprehensive sex ed programs that include information about birth control work? Yes. The Bush administrations actions here are an example of faith driving politics - and of petty political retaliation against those who don't share the "right faith."
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