Health care bill allocates funding for abstinence-only programs

The health care reform law signed by President Obama allocates $250 million for states to programs that take an abstinence-only approach to sex education, although the item took a backseat to other contentious issues during the health care debate.

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), who sponsored the provision, proposed that $50 million be authorized annually for five years to states with programs that promote delaying sex until marriage through Title V state block grant programs, and his amendment remains part of the new health bill.

“We are encouraged that funding will continue so that the important sexual health message of risk avoidance will reach American teens,” said Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association, in a press release.

James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, did not share Huber’s take on the issue. Writing in a blog on the site, Wagoner said that the government should not allocate so much funding for programs that are less effective than more comprehensive sex education programs that discuss STD awareness.

The new health care legislation also supplies $75 million annually for five years for “personal responsibility education” programs that offer information on abstinence and contraception.

PERSPECTIVE

I'm personally of the opinion that a comprehensive approach to sexuality is more likely to catch the attention of teens, but at the same time, a message of abstinence until marriage can also be promoted. Especially if all young people have the possibility of marriage in front of them, including those who have same sex partners.

– Paul Volberding, MD
Professor and Vice Chair, UCSF Department of Medicine
Chief, Medical Service SF Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Co-Director, UCSF-GIVI Center for AIDS Research