Another Billion Wasted!

Bush has recently requested $242 million for abstinence-only sex education in his proposed 2008 budget. If Congress approves this budget, the total amount of tax dollars spent on abstinence-only programs during the Bush administration will exceed $1.45 billion. Why are we spending a billion and a half dollars on programs that don't work?

Why should government spend any money at all telling people not to have sex? Whether you're 15 or 75, the choice to have sex, or not, is personal.

That's not the worst of it. Abstinence-only programs don't limit themselves to telling teenagers to just say no. They also misinform people in an attempt to manipulate their behavior. A government investigation recently found that millions of teens in abstinence-only programs were taught:
1. That abortion can lead to sterility and suicide
2. That condoms fail to prevent pregnancy 31% of the time (real failure rate: 1-3%)
3. That touching a person's genitals "can result in pregnancy"
4. That a 43-day old fetus is a "thinking person"

Lying to teenagers is always a bad idea. How can they learn to trust adults, or the government, if we don't tell them the truth?

Write your congressional representative. Tell him or her to stop supporting this irresponsible waste of money.