States resist Washington abstinence policies

The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the US (SIECUS) announced the third edition of "SIECUS State Profiles: A Portrait of Sexuality Education and Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs," the most comprehensive document of its kind detailing sexuality education and abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in states and communities. This report comes on the heels of a July 17 report by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) that found that more than 30 million federal dollars have been funneled to anti-choice crisis pregnancy centers through abstinence-only-until-marriage accounts. Since 1998, more than one billion federal taxpayer dollars have been poured into abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, almost $800 million of which were granted between 2001 and 2006. The total amount of federal dollars for these programs in 2005 was 212 million, with Texas logging in with the most at more than $16 million and Florida right behind at almost $12 million. In Fiscal Year 2006, $218 million was spent and $241.5 million has been proposed by President Bush for Fiscal Year 2007. SIECUS' major findings include: * Maine joined California and Pennsylvania in rejecting one type of federal abstinence-only-until-marriage funding; Title V funding that comes to the states through the federal welfare law. Tighter restrictions from Washington meant Maine could likely have violated its own law that mandates comprehensive sexuality education if it had not rejected the money. * New Mexico's concerns about the content of abstinence-only- until-marriage programs and the lack of evidence that they work, resulted in a decision to restrict its Title V money to programs in the sixth grade and below. The Bush administration, staunchly defending the primacy of its own dictates on abstinence and marriage promotion, has maintained that New Mexico is out of compliance. * Ohio's public health advocates have grown increasingly concerned about the use of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in their state. Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine's Report on Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs in Ohio found that the curricula contained false and misleading information about contraception and abortion, misrepresented religious beliefs as facts, and presented gender stereotypes as universal truths. Funding continued to flow to crisis pregnancy centers and other anti-choice organizations: * New Jersey doles out over one-third of its dollars to crisis pregnancy centers and more than 60 percent to anti-choice groups, many of whom are reported to be using the Silent Scream, a widely discredited video that purports to portray an abortion from "the fetus's view." This video was found to be scientifically, medically and legally inaccurate years ago. Problematic curricula continue to spread: A.C. Green's Game Plan and Choosing the Best LIFE are the two most widely used programs. The Heritage Keepers program is also becoming increasingly popular. * According to A.C. Green's Game Plan, "even if you've been sexually active, it's never too late to say no. You can't go back, but you can go forward. You might feel guilty or untrustworthy, but you can start over again." Game Plan expanded from eight states in 2004 (Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, New York and Virginia) to 15 in 2005. These additional states include Arkansas, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maine, New Mexico, Ohio and South Dakota. * Choosing the Best LIFE states that "relationships often lower the self-respect of both partners–one feeling used, the other feeling like the user. Emotional pain can cause a downward spiral leading to intense feelings of lack of worthlessness." Choosing the Best LIFE expanded from 11 states in 2004 (Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma and Texas) to 17 in 2005, adding Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Jersey and Ohio. * Heritage Keepers asks, "Why is it likely that weak people would choose risky behaviors, like drugs, alcohol, sex outside of marriage or violence?" Heritage Keepers, once isolated to South Carolina, is now used in at least seven states including, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Nebraska, Rhode Island.